\VS ^■^tiiU»■^'M^\ ;^v \\i THE STORY J E W A D BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF fletirg W, Sage 1891 A:'bh'\j>'?^% ., 1^(1^11 ' 9306 The date shows when this volume was taken. To renew this book copy the call No. and give to the librarian. MAR I i iivJU/ HOME USE RULES All Books subject to Recall All boproy^ers must regis- ter in the library to borrow books for home use. All books must be re- turned at end of college year for inspection and repairs. Limited books must be re- turned within the four week limit and not renewed. Students must return all books before leaving town. Officers should arrange for the return of books wanted during their absence from town. Volumes of periodicals and of pamphlets are held in the library as much as possible. For special pur- poses they are given out for a limited time. Borrowers should not use their library privileges for the benefit of other persons. Books of special value and gift books, when the giver wishes it, are not allowed to circulate. Readers are asked to re- port all cases of books marked or mutilated. ^ Do not deface books by marks and writinc. Cornell University Library PL 248. A39 1888 Story of Jewad : 3 1924 026 897 193 Am Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924026897193 THE STORY OF JEWAD A ROMANCE *Ali 'Aziz Efendi the Cretan TRANSLA TED FROM THE TURKISH E. J. W. 'GIBB, M.R.A.S. Membre de la Socidte Asiatique de Paris ; Author of Ottoman Poems, etc. NEW YORK WILLIAM S. GOTTSBEKGBR, PUBLISHER II MURRAY STREET 1888 so t(^A ''ii A.3(«<^o^'Z/ ^'4. x^ CONTENTS. Page. Preface . . , ii The Story of Jewad . . . . . i The Story of EbQ-'Ali SIna ... i8 The Story of Jewad — Continued , ... 30 The. Story of Monla Emin .... 37 The Story of Jewad — Continued . . 53, The Story of Ferah-Naz, the daughter of the King of China . ... 76 The Story of Khoja ' Abdu-'llah . 82 The Story of Ferah-Naz — Continued , . 129 The Story of Jewad — Continued . 131 The Story told by Jewad to IMIIu-'l-Mulk . 142 The Story of Shabiir and Hunia . 146 The Story told by Jewad — Continued 161 The Story of Ghazanfer and Rahila 170 The Story told by Jewad — Concluded . . • 185 The Story of Jewad — Continued . . . 1S6 The Story of Qara Khan . . 226 The Story of Jewad — Concluded .... 235 PREFACE. Prefixed to the little volume from which the following tale has been extracted, is a short notice to the effect that on the back of the manuscript from which the book was printed, were a few lines stating that 'All 'Aziz Efendi of Crete completed his Mu- khayyalat-i Ledun-i Ilahi in the year of the Hijra 121 1 (a. d., 1796-7), that he died two years later in 12 13 (1798-9), while on a diplomatic mission in Prussia, that he was eminent in mysticism, philosophy, and all the sciences, that he compiled several treatises on these, containing likewise the convincing solutions he afforded to the diffi- cult questions propounded by European savants ; but that his heirs, ignorant of the value of his writings, destroyed all save a few which fell into the hands of certain of his friends who could appreciate their worth. PREFACE. and who in consequence gave them to the world. The volume entitled Mukhayyalat - i Ledun-i Ilahi, 3. name which may be ren- dered by ' Phantasms from the Divine Pres- ence,' consists of three distinct stories, each styled a Mukhayyal or ' Phantasm.' All three have several secondary tales, as is the case in so many Eastern works of fiction. The first Mukhayyal consists for the most part of a series of incidents taken from various romances in The Thousand and One Nights, and woven together into a connected whole. There is little alteration in the tales as here presented, save in the proper names. The second and longest Mukhayyal is the story of Jewad. The third, a very good story, contains the wonderful adventures of an Egyptian prince called Naji-bi-'llah and his son Dil-i Agah. The collection seems to have been made with the view of exalting the Occult Sciences as practised by the Dervishes. In the first tale Prince Asll, by virtue of a talisman, PREFACE. becomes King of the Jinn ; in the second, the youthful Jewad, a professed magician, is shown forth as the possessor of every virtue ; and in the third, a learned and pious Sheykh causes Prince Dil-i Agah, while in a trance of brief duration, to experience all the vicissitudes of fortune, and to come through a number of marvellous adventures which appear to last over a long period. I have chosen for translation the Story of Jewad, not only because it is in itself the most interesting of the three, but because it shows the most clearly in what light the Occult Sciences and their practitioners used to be regarded in Turkey. It further con- tains more details concerning magic cere- monies and Oriental spiritualism than either of the others. An additional interest is imparted to the tale by the fact that at least a portion of it, that describing the hero's doings in Constantinople, gives (the magic apart) a good idea of a section of life in the Ottoman capital about the close of last century. The naivete with which Jewad, PREFACE. who, as already said, is a model of all the virtues, directs his friend Ibrahim Chelebi to outbribe the other competitors for the Collectorship of Aleppo, bears striking wit- ness to the state of official corruption by which the Empire was undermined before the days of the modern reforms. Seeing that the first Mukkayyal is made up of adaptations from The Thousand and One Nights, it is not improbable that the plots of the several ' stories of the second and third may in like manner be borrowed from some other Arabic or Persian collection. However, those here presented will, I think, in any case be new to most readers, as they are to myself The only incidents I recol- lect having met with elsewhere are the dream of Ferah-Naz, and the voyage of Qara Khan. Of these, the first is practi- cally identical with the Lady Dunya's dream in the Thousand and One Nights story of Taju-'l-Muluk, while the second bears some resemblance to the opening part of the adventures of the Third Oalender. PREFACE. In the translation (which I have made as literal as possible) I have adopted, in part, at least, a rather antiquated style as being more suited to represent that of the original; for although the work was written so late as the end of the last century it was too early to come under the influence of the great and striking change which has for some years been revolutionising the whole spirit and form of Ottoman literature.* Taking for models the writers of France, as their predecessors took those of Persia, the Turkish authors of to-day have elaborated a style utterly unlike anything to be found in the older literature, which had remained comparatively little altered from the four- teenth century till the time of the great literary reformer, ShinasI Efendi, who died in 1 871. This new style, which is much truer and simpler than the ornate and frequently far-fetched and obscure bombast which passed for fine writing in the olden * In accordance with the system adopted in mjr Ottoman Poems, all the phrases which in the original occur in Arabic are printed in italics in the translation. VI PREFACE. time, seems to be altogether better suited to the Ottoman genius ; at least if we may judge from the remarkable group of brilliant writers who have arisen in Turkey since its. introduction. Of these it will be sufficient to mention Munlf Pasha, the statesman and scholar ; Ekrem Bey, the poet and Professor of Literature at the Civil College ; ' Abdu-'l- Haqq Hamid Bey, the dramatist; and finally, Kemal Bey, who is acknowledged, by geineral consent, to be the greatest author of modern Turkey. It may perhaps be as well to state that the following words, which in the transla- tion appear in conjunction with proper names, are not in themselves names, but titles: — Shah, Khan, Khoja, Chelebi, Monla, Agha, Efendi, Khanim, Chawush, Baba, Sheykh, Emir. Of these. Shah and Khan are royal styles (the one Persian, the other Tartar,) and mean 'King'; Khanim is 'Lady'; Baba, 'Father,' is given to der- vishes. THE STORY OF JEWAD. THE STORY OF JEWAD. In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. There was in Athens, the city of the sages, a prosperous merchant, Lebib by name, who, in the port of the trade of fortune, was en- nobled with wealth and possessions and enriched with all manner of worldly goods. But by reason of his having no son to succeed him, he was exceeding sad and mournful ; and as the years of his life had reached seventy, he had at length cut the thread of hope of the possibility of offspring, and unloosed the cord of disappointment and despondency. One day a resplendent person came forth from among the travellers, and, after the salutation, seated himself beside Lebib. After he had gone through 2 THE STORY OF JEWAD. the ceremony of asking how he fared, the stranger, having watched for a fitting time, opened the mouth of wisdom, and thus began to speak : — " My master, is your honoured name Lebib, and was your father's name 'Adnan, and your mother's Libaba, and is your wife's Zahida, and was her father's Nu'man, and her mother's Naila?" LebIb was amazed at his question, and said, " Whence have you known it ?" The stranger replied : " My master, I, your ser- vant, am Ebu-'Ali Sina, and of the learned sages and renowned philosophers. As to visit this City of Wisdom is incumbent upon the endeavours of sages, for the end to observe the rule of the ancients I have been for some days a sojourner in your city. Our wont is abstinence and celibacy ; but when viewing the splendours of the city, a thought such as this filled my mind : we can leave no trace on earth ; would that, being wedded, we might at least have sons and grandsons, that the remembrance of us might remain for a little time in this world THE STORY OF JEWAD. 3 of decay. Saying to myself, ' Had I been wedded, should I have had children ?' I sought in the almanack the decrees of my ruling star. I found that I should, have had no offspring, but that a boy, Jewad* by name, will be born to you, and that he will be my spiritual son — one learned in the stars and their ascensions; and my heart was comforted." Then he drew forth from his breast a box and took thereout two pills, and said : " Husband and wife, do ye each eat a pill ; and, if it please God (exalted be He/), when your son has reached his fourteenth year, I pray you send him for his education to me, your loyal friend, at Antioch." Then he arose and departed. Lebib marvelled exceedingly at this great good news, and was glad. Straightway he hastened to his home and did according as the sage had commanded ; and when the full time was come, he was rejoiced by the birth of the promised boy, and they called * Jewad means " Beneficent "; it is not an uncommon name in Turkey. 4 THE STORY OF JEWAD. his name Jewad, even as the sage had bidden. When he had passed through childhood and attained the age of youth, the noble Jewad, having heard the story, formed a love for Ebu-'AlI from what they said. So, undazzled by the vain material wealth of his parents, he bade farewell to his father and his mother, and, receiving their blessing, set out with their permission for his master's land. In a short time he was rejoiced by meeting with Ebu-'AlT. All his time was given to the acquisition of science, and Ebu-Ali instructed him in various kinds of knowledge ; and by lavishing on him every care and attention, he made Jewad so wise a master and so wondrous a philosopher, that the saying "An able disciple becomes more a master than the master" beamed forth from his brow. As the talent of Jewad was manifest to his master, one day, when by reason of the violence of the rain they had fo'rborne to go to the college of instruction, and, nothing THE STORY OF JEWAD. 5 being to do in the house, were sitting alone, engaged in pleasant converse, there came a knocking at the door. Ebu-'AlI said to Jewad, " Go, see who knocks at the door." So Jewad went and opened the door, but seeing no one, turned in again, when, lo ! what he sees is no longer the house of Ebu-'AlI, but a kingly palace. '■'■Glory to God!" he cried, "what has befallen me?" And while he yet stood bewildered in the middle of the court, some forty or fifty slave-girls, beautiful and lovely, covered with gold and all manner of magnificent raiments and ornaments and decorations, descended the steps, and taking Jewad under the armpits,* and saying, " Welcome, and fair welcome, my master," they seated him in a lofty pavilion in an upper story of the palace. They brought him coffee and tobacco in begemmed cup and pipe ; and when he had finished, two of the slave- girls, taking him as before, conducted him * Such was the manner in which persons of ranli used to be ceremoniously conducted. 6 THE STORY OF JEWAD. to a delightful and splendid dressing-room." They stript him of the sage's clothes that were on his shoulders and girded him with gold-embroidered towels, and placed him in a bath, which, when he entered, he saw to be a beautiful bath, the dome whereof was as the vault of heaven, and the windows as the flashing stars. Lovely slave-girls, formed as it were of camphor or crystal, girt with simple towels, reverently and respectfully performed for him the bath-attendants' ser- vice. Poor Jewad was bewildered, for never in all his life had he seen or heard of such a bath or such fair frames, inciting the passions ; but he let not the rein of conti- nence and virtue slip from his hand, nor cast a look of desire. So when they had rubbed him with soap and bag,* they washed him and led him back to the dressing-room, covered with gold-wrought towels. After drying him gently, they decked his coarse sages' garb with a delicate shirt and elegant vestments, and perfumed him with aloes- " A small hair bag is used in baths for scrubbing the body. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 7 ■wood and ambergris, and, taking him under the armpits, led him forth, saying, " Come, our mistress awaits your happy advent." Poor Jewad, wondering in himself who their mistress might be, accompanied the slave-girls and came to a lofty pavilion, on entering which, a darling of the world, a tor- ment of the age, in the apparel of the daughters of kings, advanced to welcome him, saying, " Noble Jewad, you have honoured me by your coming, and rejoiced me." She took him by the hand and seated him in the place of honour, and with caresses and attentions gladdened his heart. A re- fection was brought, and with a thousand airs and charming graces they partook of the delicious foods and drank of the delicate wines ; and when bashfulness was turned away and reserve cast off, that mistress of the world threw her arms around Jewad's neck, and, playing many a love-trick, they rested till the evening in mirth and glee. Then the world-adorning lady bade Jewad good-night, and departed. They spread a 8 THE STORY OF JEWAD. lofty couch for Jewad midmost the royal pavilion, and dressed him in clean night- clothes, and went away — they all dispersed to slumber on the pillow of repose, leaving Jewad alone. Through his musing upon the circum- stances of his case and on the beauty and sweetness of that darling, sleep came not to the eyes of Jewad till morning; and behold, when it was morning, the slave-girls came and arrayed him in garments more splendid than the former, and led him to another room. Now, the lady had awaited Jewad since the dawn in the other room, to partake of coffee along with him and to call him to fresh delights ; so she saluted him with " Good morning," and renewed were their mirth and converse, and the party of glee. In the portico of the pavilion, some twenty slave-girls, musicians, playing upon full- toned flute and viol, mandolin and rebeck, made the world re-echo, and with the voices of bejewelled singers and dancers it re- sounded ; and these delighted them. Then THE STORY OF JEWAD. 9 that world-adorning darling asked for a lute, and, having gracefully fitted the plectrum on her finger, she screwed the peg of the lute and approached it to her crystal neck to hear how it would sing, and passed her hand over it to learn if it were the champion of the universe of reproach* and the interpreter of the field of art. Then she turned the sound into a beauteous melody of the mode Hijaz.f and, blending this in graceful cadence with the modes Gerdaniyyaf and Buselik,t she displayed such marvellous arts and such wondrous skill in the science of music, that she inebriated and bewildered Jewad to that degree that but one thread remained that he brake not the chord and rent not the veil of modesty. When the noble maiden had thus shown forth the art of playing and the art of en- snaring, she returned the instrument to the minstrel, and talking indifferently with Jewad, again conversed with pleasant words * Eastern music is of a sad and plaintive nature. t Tliese are names of modes in the Persian musical system. lO THE STORY OF JEWAD. and graceful speeches. They partook of a collation, and when they were finished, their conversation took the form of scientific and philosophic discussion. She was so versed in science, and knowledge, and arts, and philosophy, and exhibited such learning and skill, that perfect amazement came over Jewad. Anon in mirth and glee, and anon in scientific converse they passed the time till thus eleven days went by. Then when they again sat down to commune, the fair- faced damsel, turning to Jewad, addressed him thus, " My most noble lord, although by reason of your being a sage and a philoso- pher, it is of your glory to be not precipitate in any of your ways, yet, as a thousand opportunities there-for have occurred in our past conversations, your never having asked who I am, is great patience and mighty self- control." Jewad replied, " My mistress, as your lofty permission has been granted to enquire, I crave that, deigning to lavish on me your grace and your favour, you inform me regarding your sweet person, and instruct THE STORY OF JEWAD. II me concerning your fair self." So the maiden thus commenced her discourse : "This place is the city of,Samarqand; and your handmaid is Fitna-i Dil, the daughter of Gurshasp Shah, who now rules as monarch over this land. Since the days of childhood my desires have been restricted to the acquisition of knowledge, and they are grounded on the attainment of arts. Of all learning and sciences I have acquired some- what, according to my capability; but especially do I incline to the arts of enchant- ment and talismans and magic and charms. My master, who is a learned elder named Khoja Babek, the most wise of those in these parts, has left nought undone in teach- ing me what he knows of these sciences ; but as his skill in such arts falls short, I asked of him how I might gain the full knowledge thereof He smiled and said, ' My daughter, in Antioch the Chief of the Sages, Ebu-'All Slna, has a spiritual son, Jewad by name, noble, high-born, and dis- tinguished by beauty. For all he be not a 12 THE STORY OF JEWAD. prince, as that sage has taught him all the sciences without exception that he knows, he is a Padishah of the Seven Climes, being possessed of such knowledge as is worth the world, alt is long since such a fancy as this has occurred to my dreams that it were more meet an accomplished maiden like Your Felicitous Highness should be married to such an one, a sovereign of the hidden treasures of science and knowledge, than to an unlearned prince. If you consent, though it be not possible to fetch him with the acquiescence of Ebu-'AlI, I your father, will find a time when they think not, and through my spiritual power bring him to you.' Your handmaid became enamoured of you, my lord, on hearing this ; and as my father, the King, approved this matter and gave his consent, I desired that my master should transport you, my lord, in less than a moment, to your lover's hovel. It was my master Khoja Babek who knocked at your door. Dismiss disquiet from your noble heart; for Praise God (exalted be He.') THE STORY OF JEWAD. 15 your handmaid is pure and a virgin, other- wise I had not accepted my lord in mar- riage ; how could any man enter the harem of our chastity ? Behold, my master, such is our case ; and at this moment this palace, this wealth, these riches, yea, the crown and throne of my feeble father belong to my lord ; your handmaid too is your lawful bride — but with this condition, that our dower and portion be not as those of others, but that you teach me beforehand, in lieu of dower, the Charm of Harut and Marut;* and, in place of portion, the Phylacteria of Ahmed."t Jewad, opening the mouth of excuse, said, J " It would seem that your teacher has been deceived in this matter by the false informa- tion of some person. Although I, your slave, am in the service of the noble Ebu- 'Ali Sina, I am still a pupil engaged in such matters as pounding with the mortar and * Two angels mentioned in the Qur'an as being magicians. t Certain kinds of amulets. t The adepts were forbidden to communicate the mysteries to outsiders. 14 THE STORY OF JEWAD. -weighing with the scales ; I have never even heard the names of the arts that you men- tion, or seen the forms of the things that you describe." She answered, " My Life, Jewad Chelebi, it is unbecoming to act in this man- ner ; and, think well and reflect, having once been admitted a confidant of the seclusion of our private palace, how remote is escape!" Although she entreated with caresses and attentions, Jewad persisted in denying the explanation ; so kindly love was turned to rupture, and respect was changed to dis- courtesy. The damsel knitted her gracious brow, and the frown of anger appeared upon her forehead ; and she said with fierceness, " Alas ! that deeming thee a man, we sought to immerse thee in the ecstasy of union and enrich thee with the vision of our beauty, whilst thou art a low-bred wretch without portion in the grace of favour ; respite is granted thee for this night, gather thy senses into thy head and reflect well ; for if on the morrow thou still persist in this thy obstinacy and deny those arts we ask of death shall be THE STORY OF JEWAD. 15 life to thee !" " Hence with this ill-omened one !" she cried ; and the slave-girls seized poor Jewad by the collar, and shut him up in a place like a vault. When Jewad entered this prison he repeated magic charms and performed what he knew of strange arts, but as these availed him not one whit, and as no sign appeared therefrom, dread over- whelmed his heart, and he began to weep. He knew that there was here some mighty power, for that his magic incantations and performances had no result ; and he thought in himself, with the finger of bewilderment in the mouth,* " There must be some hidden reason for this maiden's eager desire to learn certain things of me while she herself is conversant with arts that can render all my power of none effect ; this is fitting, that I yield up my head but not my secret;" and he determined and resolved to part with life. He wept till dawn in the narrow prison, and when it was morn some of the eunuchs of the harem opened the door and entered, ^ Biting the finger is considered a sign of perplexity. 1 6 THE STORY OF JEWAD. sword in hand. They made fast the hands and feet of Jewad, and carried him before the maiden, who, again adopting gentleness, counselled and advised and promised him much, and treated him with courtesy ; but after half an hour of this behaviour she abandoned it, and threatened him for a like space with frowns and wrath upon her brow. She saw Jewad to be unbending in obstinacy, that not only would he not reveal his secret, but, would not even seek refuge in pardon and compassion ; so she commanded the eunuchs, saying, "Take this wretch and pre- pare his doom." So they seized him by the neck and collar, and haled him to the mouth of a pit ; again she counselled him much, but as not a sound proceeded from him save the words of the Profession of Faith,* they seized him by the feet, and cast him head foremost down the pit. As he descends headlong to the bottom of the pit, he opens his eyes, and sees him- ' The Profession of Faitli is : " / testify that there is tio god but Cod, and I testify tJiat Mtihammed is the Apostle of God." THE STORY OF JEWAD. IJ self sitting in the presence of Ebu-'AlT. For the space of quarter of an hour he remained speechless, overwhelmed in the ocean of amaze. When he recovered his senses, he kissed his master's feet, and manifested his bewilderment, saying, "What, has befallen me ?" So his wise master thus, addressed him : " Son, we have caused thee a little dismay ; but thou wilt hold us par- doned, for this practice is of the honoured traditions of the sages. From my perfect love for thee, I did not much affright thee, but pitied thee. Behold, my life, Jewad, this is a warning to thee, and an example and a precedent to conceal the Secrets.* They who conceal the Secrets and yield up their lives shall find the same in the pres- ence of Glory, and likewise the awakening from incertitude. I shall relate to thee the strange experiences that my master made me undergo to teach me the concealment of the Secrets, that thou mayest know my gentleness towards thee." * The secrets of Mvslic Virtue. l8 THE STORY OF JEWAD. THE STORY OF EBU-'ALI SIN A. >' For thirty consecutive years, I, thy father, girded the loins of zeal and ardour in the service of my master, Khoja DahitI, in the city of Fez. One day, when I had to his satisfaction performed my duty and attained to that degree of knowledge to which thou, my son, has't reached, I went forth with the rest of the disciples to a field for diversion. As the students were numer- ous, pilaws and zerdas* were being cooked in cauldrons; and, after the manner of amusement, the disciples played and enter- tained themselves with all sorts of games. One of the ushers showed us a game which consisted in tightly binding the eyes of one with a handkerchief; then that blindfolded one tried to catch one of the others, who teased him by plucking his hand and skirt; when he caught one, his eyes were freed and ' The name of dishes. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 19 those of the captive bound.. By-and-by, the bHndfold lad caught me, and when they were going to cover my eyes, our master said jestingly, 'Ebu-'Ah is a cunning fel- low; let me make fast his eyes.' And he blindfolded me with the handkerchief him- self, and led me into the middle of the field, and there left me. " I waited to catch my companions who might come from either side, but no one appeared to pluck me. ' Come, now, do not play any tricks when my eyes are thus blindfolded,' cried I ; but no one came. From the stress of my disquietude I tore the handkerchief from my eyes, when what did I see ? No longer the field where I had been — I was standing in the midst of a boundless waste. I said, ' Glory to God ! There is no strength nor any power saving in God r And I sat down, and thinking to myself and pondering, I remained bewil- dered. Finding no help therefor, I arose and began to wander vacantly over the plain. I fared on for the space of five hours, when 20 THE STORY OF JEWAD. my strength and endurance failed, but look- ing round about I saw upon a mound a saddled and caparisoned dromedary. I ascended the mound, and cautiously ap- proaching the dromedary, I seized his bridle and mounted him. The moment I got upon him, he struck his feet upon the ground and soared into the air. What did I see ? That which I rode was a hideous demon, and the bridle which I held in my hand was his elf- lock. Collecting my senses, I put into practice the charms which I had learned from my master ; but when I perceived that these produced no effect soever, I began to weep. "After flying in the air for the space of an hour, he alighted in a place like the Vale of Saqar.* There a vast multitude of demons, male and female, had lighted a great fire, and were gathered in a circle round about it ; they had seized and bound a score of hapless ones of the sons of Adam, whom they stript to slaughter. The demon who had brought me took me down * The name of a stage of Hell. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 21 from his shoulder and placed me on the ground. Now, I gathered from their gest- ures that the demons said on seeing me, ' This lean man cannot be eaten until he has been fattened for at least forty or fifty days ; would that thou hadst not brought him !' — for I was thin of body and meagre of per- son. And one by one they came and looked at my hands and feet, and they took me in their hands and examined me like a sheep. At length they slaughtered the men who were there, and thrust them upon spits, and devoured them before my eyes. Then they took me and imprisoned me in a cave, and put beside me a measure of walnuts and almonds and a pitcher of water, and they made fast the cave door. " Through my dismay I neither ate nor drank, and half the night was passed when sleep overcame me. I woke when it was morning, and I found myself once more in the waste. Praising and, thanking God, I wandered along the plain, and while casting my eyes distractedly around lest a wild man 22 THE STORY OF JEWAD. might appear, I perceived a frail old man proceeding along the road straight before me. On my approaching and saluting him, he said, 'Why dost thou wander in this place?' And I related to him all my ad- ventures of the day before. He said: ' O, my son, God hath indeed protected thee ; these are a set of demons such that escape is impossible for those who fall into their hands ; our being able to pass through these parts is only by virtue of our knowl- edge of the Most Great Name. Do not fear, thy meeting with us is owing to the prayers of thy master ; come, be a guest in our house ; our village is hard by.' " We fared along together for about three hours, and while on the road he said a thousand pleasant things. When we entered the village the old man shook himself once, and his stature grew to the height of twenty cubits, and he uttered a yell, like the roar of a cannon, which well-nigh broke the membranes of my ear ; and immediately were gathered together four or five hundred THE STORY OF JEWAD. 23 creatures, hideous like himself. When I beheld this I commenced to repeat charms, and again I saw that these magic rites had no effect, so I remained helpless and be- wildered. Amongst the demons was a form more vile than all the rest, clad in the garb of a woman ; now this was the daughter of the accursed one who had brought me. He made me over to her, saying, 'Take this wretch and fulfil thy duty ; he has wearied me much upon the road,' Then she seized me by the arm, and put me into a dark cave, and sat down beside me, and said„ ' Stranger, do not fear ; my father gave thee to me that he might eat thee ; but I have fallen in love with thee. All the demons are ravished with my beauty ; thou seest how fair I am ; although the fear of death at present bewilders thee, I doubt not that on the first glance thou too shalt love my beauty and grace and comeliness. My will is to rejoice thee with the delight of union with me ; but in matters like this there must be no precipitation ; see, for 24 ■ THE STORY OF JEW AD. some days let us talk and converse with one another, then thou shalt be mine, and I will be thine.' She brought me a tin dish in which was a roasted dog, and a pitcher of water, and said ' Now, my darling, eat, drink, and be at ease ;' and she departed. I sought refuge in God and repented me of my past sins, and through despair and fatigue wept passing sore. "When it was morning I awoke and opened my eyes, and, lo, I was near a city. Thanking and praising God for the separa- tion from my lover, I arose and proceeded towards the city. On the way I encoun- tered both on hill and plain many animals, such as horses and asses and apes and dogs ; these gathered round me and pulled me by the hand and skirt, and with their mute eloquence would have hindered me from going into the city ; but I repelled them and entered it. When I passed into the city I saw standing ready prepared a fresh and regal horse, with some twenty or thirty servants ; these, saying, ' Welcome, THE STORY OF JEWAD. 25 my master !' mounted me on the steed, and, following at my stirrup, conducted me to an imperial palace. I saw the city to be very flourishing, and the palace exceeding splendid and magnificent, and I marvelled. They conducted me with respect to the' royal divan ; and all the members of the divan were standing, and a veiled monarch was sitting upon a throne on the chief place of a dais. So I went to the foot of the throne and kissed the ground and modestly retired, whereupon the sovereign asked me whence I came. On my narrating how I had by enchantment fallen into a wilder- ness, and the adventures I had encountered during the two nights, the monarch smiled wonderingly, and said, ' Thou hast met with marvellous haps,' and he bade fetch a chair and motioned me to be seated. When the business of the divan was finished, permis- sion was granted to every one, and they went away. Presently an officer came and took me, and bringing me before the palace- gate, made me over to the harem eunuchs, 26 THE STORY OF JEWAD. who conducted me with the greatest defer- ence. On entering a vast paviHon I saw upon a throne a darhng of the world, a tor- ment of the soul, the description of whose charms would surpass that of Fitna-i Dil's by a hundred degrees. She said, ' All hail ! come hither.' And she took me to her side and, after a thousand caresses and atten- tions, looked upon me and addressed me thus, 'Ebu-'AlT, speak truly, hast thou ever in the course of thy life seen or heard of a darling of the world equal to me?' I re- plied, ' / seek pardon of God, my mistress, the truth is, that the like of thy world-adorn- ing beauty exists not on the earth, nor has been heard of Then she said, ' O Ebu- All, this city is the city of Surat, and the realm which is under my sway ; for I am Shlrin-Kar, sovereign of the land of Surat. I inherited this realm from my father, and for five years have I sat without misfortune on my paternal throne. I am the monarch whom a little while ago thou sawest covered with a veil, sitting on the throne. As the THE STORY OF JEWAD. 2/ neighbouring monarchs round about are lords of might, resistance would be difificult, did they make war upon us. Alike my father and your handmaid ha^e been able to rule this country only' through the spiritual power of my nurse Ruveyda; but knowing not what would befall me if ta that nurse there happened a mischance, I took counsel with her upon this matter, and she gave answer thus : " My daughter, there is in Fez a darling disciple of Khoja Dahiti, who possesses much skill in the science of magic, and his science is more potent than our enchantments. I shall bring him to- thee, for he is full worthy to be thy mate ; and thou shouldst wed him, and relinquish- ing crown and throne, rest in the corner of retirement." I said, "If Ebu-'AlI possess such magic power, how can I be safe with him ? Should he be vexed with me, perad- venture he might seek to injure me." My nurse replied, "There is a remedy for this too ; let Ebu-All teach thee the Hintij Charm, which is the most potent of all 28 THE STORY OF JEWAD. magic charms, and henceforward he will be powerless to harm us." Thus we decided; and she went and snatched thee from the field. That dromedary which thou sawest and which afterwards became a demon, and that aged man thou didst meet the next day were our old nurse. And each of these ani- mals thou sawest without the city is a skil- ful magician whom my nurse has trans- formed and driven to the wilds for seeking to overcome us. In a word, my object in briefly relating these things to thee — and delay and deliberation are needless in this matter — is that in an hour's time thou teachest that charm to thy handmaid ; and one day our wedding shall surely be.' Now, as the charm she spoke of was the formula which I had several times repeated both on the demon's back and in the ne- gress's cave, and from which I had seen no result, I was doubly astonished, and re- mained silent. Perceiving from my silence my resolution not to comply, she urged me the more ; and at length when she saw that THE STORY OF JEWAD. 29 I absolutely refused, she showed forth her anger, and said to frighten me, ' Delay not, or I will slay thee.' When she saw it to be altogether vain, she summoned the execu- tioner, and made me over to him, saying, ' Finish the work for me.' So he bound my hands with a handkerchief and made me kneel down, and as I was looking for death, someone brushed against my sleeve. Fancy- ing it to be the executioner, I was about to cry for quarter, when all the disciples shouted out, ' He has caught him !' They did off the bandage from my eyes, and I saw I was again in the playground in the field. My master came up to me and said, 'Ebu- 'All's stomach is disordered, his head is reeling.' And he took me by the hand and made me sit down beside him, and whispered in my ear, 'Fear not.' And he said to one of the ushers, 'Ebu-'AlT has fasted for three days, bring the pilaw quickly.' Silent and bewil- dered I ate of the pilaw and zerda with the disciples ; aiid when evening was nigh, after we had returned from the field to our old 30 THE STORY OF JEWAD. abode, my master no longer concealed from me the knowledge of the arcana — the mercy of God on him /" * " Behold ! Jewad, Light of my eyes, be it known unto thee and believed that of such strange sciences one is Sorcery (Sihr), to perform which — refuge is in God (exalted be He /) — is degradation to our nature and contrary to the Divine pleasure ; it is an ever-increasing sin dependent on the utter- ing of vile words blaspheming the Eternal Glory, and connected with abominable acts. There is another which consists of marvels brought about by the means of certain names of Spiritual Beings, and virtues of things, and charms ; this they call Magic (Simya). Another, connected with the in- fluences of the stars, they name the Science of Talismans (Tilsim) or Enchantments (Nirenjat). Another, too, is effected by se- clusion and vigils and fasts and austerities, * These experiences of Jewad and Ebu-'AII are suggestive of the effects of some of the intoxicating preparations, such as bang or hashish, employed in the East. It is probable that the magicians made frequent use of such. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 31 with certain Qur-'anic verses and Divine names and charms ; this is called the Sci- ence of Occult Virtues ('Ilm-i Khawass). There is yet another kind, the Divine Sci- ence, the Celestial Knowledge ; this trav- ersing of time and space which thou hast witnessed is only effected by that glorious Science, those Divine Mysteries. Be it not concealed that the Lords of Truth and the Companions of the Grace of Knowledge have ascertained that the faculty of imagi- nation exerciseth power in twenty-seven matters. For example, if a pure man con- versant with the Divine Subtleties conceive in his mind the perfect likeness of the exter- nal form of any person, mould an image thereof, and keep the same in some narrow place, like a cupboard, it is well known that he whose image is thus formed, wheresoever he be, will fall a prey to contraction of breast and heaviness of heart. In like man- ner the accomplishment of such traversing of space and time is of the powers of the understanding. For this cause were the 32 THE STORY OF JEWAD. magic charms that thou knowest of no effect, and wast thou unable to release thy^ self from the trammels of the prison — that the Divine Knowledge is more potent than all other sciences. Moreover, be it believed of thee that what thou sawest were not mere visions, and that we instructed Fitna-i Dil to observe such conduct toward thee. In short, these things which thou didst behold are all at this moment in existence ; and, an it be thy desire, I will wed thee to that darling maiden. But I crave of thee. En- dowed with Knowledge, ever to move about a celibate, and that thou violate not the custom of the sages : — to be in the world, like Saint Jesus, without a spouse. In truth, my object in the cruel treatment shown to thee by that maiden was to induce thee to shun them, having seen the fickle- ness of women." Ebu-'AlI, after confirming, as requisite, pledge and troth with Jewad, said, " O son, thou hast gained a manifest right hencefor- ward to acquire the Blessed Knowledge — THE STORY OF JEWAD. 33 may it be blessed to thee !" And breast to breast he explained and conveyed to Jewad all that he knew of the Divine Science. So Jewad became a greater master than his master in mystic and philosophic lore, and in the general and special sciences a wonder- working sage. When seven years had thus passed, total feebleness came over Ebu- 'All's human ele- ments by reason of the greatness of his age ; and, as the journey to the Hereafter became inevitable, he called all his disciples round his bed, and, after making the necessary testaments, he appointed Jewad his successor, and closed his lips repeating the best of finishings, the words of the Profession of Faith, and set forth for Paradise. After the consignment to the sepulchre, whilst the rites of mourning were being ful- filled and completed, Jewad was not negli- gent of teaching and instructing, but busied in the diffusion of knowledge. But as he was still in the years of his youth, the old ushers could not endure that he should sit on the 34 THE STORY OF JEWAD. carpet of master; and, seeing that they vexed him by ridicule and derision, he was obliged to leave that district; and he set out alone for the city of Constantinople. When he reached the capital he thus said in him- self ' If I go to the colleges where are the learned, my time will again be occupied in instructing and instruction, and I shall assuredly gain no pleasure by reason of the conduct of the vulgar ; a better joy were to conceal my power and skill, and going amongst the people, endeavour to promote their happiness.' So he hired a room in the Armour-Bearer's Khan and remained in the corner of retirement, occupying himself in visiting the places worthy to be seen in the streets and markets of the Sublime Capital. One day, as he was going up from the Long Bazaar, he saw some dozen of witty- looking friends gathered together in the shop of a respectable person who sold cups and soap and certain drugs, opposite the shop of 'Ushshaql-Oghlu; these invited him to come in and enjoy himself Saying in THE STORY OB' JEWAD. 35 himself, 'If they be of the Sublime Capital, they will be an intelligent set,' he saluted, them in an easy manner, and got into the, shop. The shopkeeper, who was a person named Ibrahim Chelebi and one of the pol- ished men of the day, treated Jewad court- eously, saying, 'Welcome ! all hail !' and he regaled him with coffee and tobacco. Jewad paid attention to the converse of the friends, and when he saw that they were all select, agreeable, sweet of speech, clever and witty, he joined in the conversation on fitting opportunities, so that all the friends were delighted at his words, and asked whence he came and where he dwelt; and the shop- keeper and the comrades sang his praises, requesting he would always rejoice them by coming. So Jewad, who loved such gatherings of intelligent friends, began to go regularly to that place, and bound the bonds of friend- ship and familiarity with all the comrades,, but especially with the shopkeeper Ibrahim Chelebi the soap-merchant, to such a degree 36 THE STORY OF JEWAD. that if any day he came not, it was because he was indisposed; and Ibrahim's eyes would be fixed upon the road, and that day he would not smile. In the still existing and famous shop of 'Ushshaqi-Oghlu, which was opposite, was then a youth, a darling of the world, a dis- turber of the age, of the House of 'UshshaqI, about sixteen or seventeen years old, called Monla Emin, who sometimes came to the shop of Ibrahim Chelebi to have private con- versations. One day Jewad said to Ibrahim Chelebi, ' This son of 'UshshaqI sometimes comes and sits here, but never joins in the conversation ; I had imagined him vain of his comeliness, but on looking with atten- tion I see that he always sits in his own shop too, sad and sorrowful; here the signs of grief and distress seem still greater.' Ibrahim Chelebi shook his head and said, 'My master, a strange adventure has befallen him, a circumstance the like of which has not been seen or heard.' And thus began he to relate : — THE STORY OF JEWAD. 37 THE STORY OF MONLA EM IN. "Mustejeb Chelebi, the father of this young man, died a year ago, and left his shop, his house, with some other things and about a hundred purses,* which the latter inherited. I had formerly relations with his father, and as Emin was quite young, fearing that he might go astray, I urged him to marry. The lad disputed not my words, but consented ; so sending examiners f round, we began to look for a bride for Monla EmIn. One day the old women came and reported that near the Variegated Bath, there was a damsel, daughter of a person named Haji Mustafa the slipper- seller. She had inherited from her late father, besides a house and much garniture, a monthly income of two hundred and fifty piastres, the rent of some property. She had no friends but her mother, and was now sixteen or seventeen years old ; and no * A " purse " consists of 500 piastres. ' t The old woman mentioned in the next sentence. '38 THE STORY OF JEWAD. words could describe her beauty, which was worth the world : a lovely maiden, black- eyebrowed, blue-eyed, with skin whiter than whiteness, with figure and stature well- proportioned, with long neck, with hands, feet, and mouth all to match, with cheek and forehead like the moon, in airs and graces a torment of the world, an ensnarer, a heart- delighter, a cause of joy. And they stated how when they declared that the seeker in marriage was Monla Emln, her mother con- sented, saying, ' Monla Emin shall be an indoor bridegroom (that is he shall come to the maiden's house and we will see to the daily expenses, nothing shall be looked for from him) ; I only want a well-mannered son-in-law, one who will open and shut our doors, and such like.' Much pleased at this news, I informed Monla Emm, who consented and appointed your slave agent ; and two of the companions being the witnesses, we married 'Ayesha, daughter of Mustafa, to Mehemed Emln Agha ; and in the course of a few days their union was consummated. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 39 For about a month they got on somehow, for although Monla Emin was satisfied with his wife, his mother-in-law was such a cruel, wicked, unmannerly wretch, that there was not a day but she sent him weeping to the shop. When I saw this state of things, and that the poor young man's health and happiness were banished, at my instance his wife was divorced. " Some twenty days after this event, a well dressed, well-fashioned and handsome man of about sixty-five years of age, attended by four servants, happening to pass by, saw the cases of drugs displayed in my shop. He dismounted and came into my poor shop, and after saluting me politely, asked, ' Master, have you benzoin and crocus martis ?' Answering, 'Yes,' I placed these drugs before him. He separated five drachms of each, and, paying the money, put each into a piece of paper, and taking a bit of muslin from his bosom, placed them in it. That man was so eloquent and polite that both your slave and the friends were delighted with his tone and 40 THE STORY OF JEWAD. manners ; but he bade us farewell, and mounted his horse again and departed. In the course of ten days he happened to pass by here, and he alighted and, coming into the shop, said, ' Ibrahim Chelebi, by Allah I was greatly pleased with thee.' He was very courteous, and your slave treated him with marked attention ; and he tarried for about three hours, and then went away. He continued coming at intervals of a few days, and grew familiar with us ; and in the space of a month he came twenty times to our shop. He mentioned at a fitting time in the course of conversation that he was of the Chartered Fief- Holders and that his name was 'Abbas Agha. Our Monla Emin too was present now and then at the meet- ings. One day I related Emin's adventure to the Agha, just as I have told it to you ; he showed much regret, and finding a break in the' conversation, said, ' My dear Ibrahim Chelebi, I pray that to-morrow you honour my poor house with a visit, and bring Monla Emm ; you might have some difficulty in THE STORY OF JEWAD. 4I finding the house, so I will send a servant to you.' I replied, ' I shall be honoured and delighted.' So at three o'clock next day he sent a servant with two horses with Hayderl bridles and saddle-cloths of Mardin work. We mounted the horses and followed the servant till we came to a large door in a blind-alley near the Cap-maker's Mosque in the New Garden. When we entered the court some thirty, tidy, well-dressed pages, with sashes round their waists, came for- ward to the horse-block to meet us, and taking hold of our skirts, they respectfully led us up-stairs. It was a palace in size nearly equal to the residence of the Grand Vezir ; we entered a room spread with car- pets such as are not to be found in the dwellings of the greatest of the great. His Excellency the Agha with a black-fox pe- lisse on his vezirial shoulders, was seated in a corner, and a similar number of chosen pages were standing before him with folded hands ; and I was amazed at the pomp and magnificence of the Agha. When he saw 42 THE STORY OF JEWAD. US he rose and said, ' O brothers, you have wearied your feet ; you have done me honour.' And he treated us with courtesy, and we kissed his skirt and sat down. A collation was served, and after it had been partaken of, the Agha arose and went into a small room adjoining the other; then a page appeared and said to me, ' Pray come, the Agha wishes you.' And he took me and brought me into his presence. As he motioned me to sit near him, I sat down facing him, knee to knee, and he said, ' Ibrahim Chelebi, I am about to make a request of thee, and I desire of thee that thou do gratify it ; what sayest thou ?' I re- plied, ' How could I refuse anything I can perform ?' Then he said, ' In this man- sion, the world, I have no heir save one only daughter ; my desire is to make Monla Emln my son-in-law ; but I wish that he be persuaded now, for I desire to make this day the wedding-day and this night the bridal-night; if thou say 'nay,' it will be needful to sever the bond of friendship.' THE STORY OF JEWAD. 43 I replied, ' Lo, my master, I shall go and. explain to him.' And I arose and came to him. On my informing him of what had passed, he said, ' Thou art my father, what- soever thou do I approve.' So I went to the Agha and told him that Emln con- sented. He immediately sent men to the imam * and assembly of the parish, and we returned to the first room. Emin kissed the Agha's skirt and blessed him saying, ' Be happy,' and while conversing about how they would get on and such like, the imam and Remzi Chelebi, the mu'ezzin f of the mosque, who was an old friend of ours, and other people of the parish came and seated themselves politely. Remzl Chelebi sat down beside me, bowed to me, and said, ' It is long since we have seen each other.' On my explaining to him in a low voice the reason of his being summoned and what was wanted of the party, he said : ' What things God willeth, exalted be He / May He grant peace and happiness ! Emln » Precentor. t Caller to Divirte Service. 44 THE STORY OF JEWAD. has attained to fortune, when not so much as looking for it' The pipes were now re- moved, and while censers of aloes-wood and ,ambergris were smoking, the Imam Efendi, vowing repentance and begging forgiveness, recited an eloquent marriage- service, and wedded Khayal Khanim, •daughter of 'Abbas Agha, to Mehemed Emin, with a paid-down dower of one thou- sand piastres. A grey-squirrel pelisse with ample sleeves was given to the Imam Efendi, bags of money to Remzl Chelebi and the two other mu'ezzins, and, according to the usual custom, muslin handkerchiefs to the party ; beside me, too, they laid a parcel. After the completion of the cere- mony, the Agha said, ' I hope, if it please God, you will also perform the evening- worship here ?' Leave was then given to every one, and they departed. When we were left alone the Agha said, ' Let us send Emin Agha to the bath.' So we sent him to the bath mounted on a caparisoned horse accompanied by two attendants. Your THE STORY OF JEWAD. 45 slave also took leave of His Excellency the Agha, and went to shut the shop, having- agreed to come back early on the morrow, if it pleased God. So I closed the shop and went to my house, and praised God for the parcel that had been given me, and thanked Him for Emm's attaining this un- looked-for good fortune. " When it was morning I went and opened my shop and got a hired horse, and while I was waiting wondering if it were time to go to Monla Emin's father-in-law, a halberdier* came up, and, saluting me, asked, 'Who is Ibrahim Chelebi the soap- merchant here ?' On my telling him that I was he, he said, ' Pray come ; some one whom the bastinadomen have wants you, and begs that you come quickly.' As the horse was ready, I mounted and went to the H6tel,t when what did I see ? — it was Monla Emin who was in the prison. My soul leapt into my head, and I asked, * A Janissary employed as an official messenger, t The H6tel or Palace, the official residence of the Agha of the Janissaries. 46. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 'What is this plight?' Then he said: 'O my good father, I have met with a strange adventure, the Hke of which has never hap- pened to any one. At the time when they took me to the bath, after the cleansing, they arrayed me in these splendid garments I have on, and put into my pocket four hundred half sequins * for the expenses of the bath — the rest are in my pocket still. They took me from the bath and brought me to the mansion ; and after supper, when it was evening, the Imam and the Mu'ezzin Remzi Chelebi and the assembly returned and performed the ceremony of evening- worship ; and they put me into the bridal- chamber. I had imagined to myself, 'As I am chosen son-in-law of a distinguished person like this, his daughter must be vile and foul of favour, degraded in the eyes of the great, or smitten with some illness ; but for the sake of this fortune, let it be what it will.' But when I entered the nuptial apartment (I cannot describe the splen- * A sequin was worth about 12s. 6d. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 47 •dours of the bridal-chamber) what did I see ? That she was a bride the like of whom in beauty and loveliness and grace and comeliness had never entered the im- agination or conception of that son-in-law, the aged Sphere. It was after six o'clock "when sleep overcame me. When it was morning I awoke, but finding not my be- loved in the bed, I rose up, and what did I see ? — that darling of the world lying mur- dered in the middle of the room, with her head and hands and feet separated, in ten pieces. O my dear, my good father ! that moment my breath was stopped ; I fell down fainting. After a time my senses re- turned, and weeping, I went out of the room. The nurse and slave-girls, who were Avaiting without the door, said, ' What is the matter ?' I replied, ' Go in and see what is the matter.' Then when the nurse went in and saw the bride in that case, her cries and wails, like the voice of a Mu'ezzin, as- cended to Capella ; and all the slave-girls gathered together and wailed aloud. And 48 THE STORY OF JEWAD. they informed my father-in-law, and he came, and when he saw his daughter in such case, he fell down in a swoon. They sprinkled water upon his face and brought back his senses ; and he rushed upon me crying, ' O wretch ! O fool ! is this the re- turn for the favours I conferred upon thee ? traitor !' Then he fetched his servants and other retainers, and showed them what had happened, and said, ' Take this wretch to the Agha of the Janissaries and explain what has occurred ; I, too, shall go when she who is slain has been washed and buried.' And he gave me to three of his servants, who, dragging me by hand and collar, brought me here ; and when they had informed the Agha, he imprisoned me in this place.' Crying, ' Ah ! my good father, do this with my shop and that with my money,' Emin made his testament, and began to shed tears like rain by reason of the fire within his heart. To comfort him, 1 said, 'Fear not; God is good!' But he made answer : ' How should I fear ? Thou THE STORY OF JEWAD. 49 fanciest that I weep through dread of death ; after parting from a fairy-faced bride like her, to die were life to my soul. Would to God that I had died an hour before her, that I might have met her in the Hereafter ! I weep for parting from my love.' And he wept full bitterly, so that my heart was pierced. " I thought much within myself and thus decided — that there was no help save to go once more to 'Abbas Agha and tell him of the anguish of poor Emin, that per- chance he might forgive him. With this purpose I mounted upon my beast, and with fear and trembling turned into the blind-alley near the mosque in the New Garden. But I could find no door like the great gate I had seen the night before ; and while I was standing in the middle of the street in perfect bewilderment, an old woman called from behind a lattice, ' What seekest thou, son ?' On my answering, 'There is here one of the chartered fief- holders, 'Abbas Agha ; I am seeking his 50 THE STORY OF JEWAD. mansion,' she replied, 'There is no such per- son or mansion as you mention here.' I left the street, and knocking at some doors, asked the same question. When I could get no information, I recollected that Remzl Chel^ ebi had been there the night before; so thinking to go and enquire of him, I went :and found him. 'Ah! welcome,' said he; ' what wind has blown you here ?' I re- plied, 'O brother, I am seeking that house of 'Abbas Agha where we were last night at the marriage of Monla Emin ; I cannot find it; would you do me the kindness to show it to me?' Then Remzl Chelebi's gaiety disappeared, and he answered : ' Ibrahim Chelebi, what has happened to thee? What 'Abbas Agha? What mar- riage ? It is a year since I have seen thee ; what ails thee ?' I replied, ' O brother, thou didst sit by my side last evening, and thou didst ask me so-and-so, and I an- swered thee on such an wise.' 'Alas, alas, brother,' said he, ' do not delay in getting thyself bled and in taking a strong draught.' THE STORY OF JEWAD. 51 1 then knew there was some mystery here, and I said, ' Do not think, brother, Remzl Chelebi, that I am afiflicted with melan- choHa; listen to my words.' And I related to him the whole story. I said, 'And Monla Emin is now in prison ; for the love of God come with me to the H&tel and see.' And I took Remzi Chelebi to the Hotel of the Agha. When he saw Emin in prison and asked the truth of him, and he related the entire adventure, Remzl Chelebi, unable to comprehend, cried, ' Glory to God / there is no strength nor any power saving in God ! O my son, it is a year since I have seen thee or Ibrahim Chelebi.' And he became more bewildered than ourselves. " Then we both went up together to the presence of the Agha and related to him all that had happened, and Remzl said : ' My master, I your slave, am the Mu'ezzin of that parish ; and there is no such man in our parish ; and, whilst I have not seen these two men for a year, they insist that we spoke to each other last night : there is 52 THE STORY OF JEWAD. here some strange mystery ; investigate and look into it' The Agha said : ' Yes, the slaves too who brought the murderer in the morning stated that their master was a fief-holder named 'Abbas Agha, who re- sided near the Cap-maker's Mosque.' And he sent one mart to the New Garden and another to enquire of the Chief of the Fief- holders. When these returned, the first reported that there was no such person in that quarter, and the second that the Chief of the Fief-holders could find in his register no fief-holder of that name who resided in the capital. So the Agha was plunged in the ocean of amazement, and with the se- curity of us two he liberated Emin from prison and gave him over to us. We took him to the shop, but what was the use? — his eyes would not look upon the world, and he would say nothing but, ' Why did you save me ; and not leave me that they might have killed me, then I should have met my darling a little sooner in the Here- after ?' We then took him by force to his THE STORY OF JEWAl). 53 shop, opened it, and seated him in his place. We perceived a piece of paper, 6f the size of a ticket, lying on the counter; and thus was there written thereon : — ' Filthy swine, nor has 'Abbas Agha any being, nor has the damsel any existence; it is I, thy mother-in-law, who have done all this ; I will teach thee to abandon my daughter for a few words of mine ; this thing is the least that I will do ; see, will it suffice thee ?' When we read the paper we were still more bewildered ; and by reason of the greatness of our fear we again sent an agent and caused Emin to renew the marriage with his divorced wife. He is therefore now compelled to endure suffering, and the grief thereof is the cause of his sadness." Jewad smiled and said, ' Ibrahim Chel- ebi, if you have a quiet place I will show you a strange sight.' Ibrahim replied, ' There cannot be a quieter place than Monla Emin's own house in the neighbour- 54 THE STORY OF JEWAD. hood of Merjan.' So Monla Emln and Ibrahim Chelebi and Jewad went all three to that house, and entering, locked the door and sat down in a room. Then Jewad ad- dressed Monla Emin, saying, ' Get ready a complete suit of clothes of thine own gar- ments, and a piece of myrtle, or laurel, or olive, or pomegranate-wood a span long, and bring them.' So he went, and accord- ing to the directions brought the clothes and a piece of myrtle-wood ; then Jewad cut the wood with a knife to the thickness of a reed-pen, making it four-sided, and said, 'And this is the wand of Tabdtib, take it with the hand of El-Qaytard! * And he gave it into the hand of Emin, and thus directed him : ' Do thou go now to thy house, and while talking with thy wife, do thou strike her once with that wand, as it were in play ; and do thou come to the shop and recount to us whatsoever thou mayest have beheld. But let us make trial * 1 have been unable to ascertain who or what Tabatib and EI- Qaytara are. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 55, here : strike thyself once with it, and let us see.' The moment Emin struck himself with the wand all his clothes vanished, and he stood naked as wh.en he came from his mother. At once he got the clothes he had made ready and put them on ; and he and Ibrahim Chelebi were amazed at this occur- rence. Then Jewad said, ' Monla Emln,^ brother, those clothes which thou hadst on were magical unrealities ; from the day when first I beheld thee I have seen thee: naked ; now go and strike once thy wife in compliance with my instructions, and we: shall see. So he sent Emin to his wife's, house, and went with Ibrahim Chelebi to. the shop. In the course of half-an-hour Emin arrived smiling and delighted, and he kissed the hand of Jewad. And the latter said, ' Restore the trust,' and he took the wand and brake it. Then he asked, say- ing, ' Now let us see, what hast thou done ?' And Emin thus narrated : ' When I got to the house I entered my usual room and sat down, and my wife said to me, 'My life^ 56 THE STORY OF JEWAD. what has happened that thou comest thus untimely?' I gave no answer, but struck her once with the wand, and that very mo- ment that peerless beauty turned into a ragged hag, like an eighty-year-old, two- humped, toothless, gipsy sieve-seller; and that house like a lofty mansion became a vile and filthy one-roomed old hovel ; and that sumptuous garniture was changed into a tattered government-store rug and two canvas bolsters stuffed with straw. The woman began to weep and cry, ' Mercy ! for the love of God destroy me not !' ' Who art thou, speak the truth ?' said I. She answered, ' They call me Bloody 'Ayesha, and she whom thou imaginest to be thy mother-in- law is my younger sister.' ' Swear to me,' said I, ' that thou wilt never again bewitch me or come before me, else will I strike thee again and slay thee.' And I made her swear strong oaths, and left her, and am come.' And Ibrahim Chelebi smiled and was de- lighted, and blessed Jewad ; and he pre- pared musked coffee, and the three of them THE STORY OF JEWAD. 57 enjoyed themselves once more alone in the shop. In the course of conversation Jewad said to Ibrahim, ' My dear Ibrahim Chelebi, have we finished our business yet? We have left Monla Emin wifeless ; it were right that we should make him again head of a house.' But poor Emin, as his wool had been singed twice already, cried out, ' Mercy, liny master, henceforward marriage is unlaw- ful for me ; you have delivered me, that is sufficient kindness.' Once, after about ten days had passed in this fashion, when they were wearied with the greatness of the heat of the weather, Jewad said to Ibrahim, ' My life, Ibrahim Chelebi, the heart longs for some shady retreat ; the walks about Hayder Pasha* are said to be beautiful, what if you and Monla Emin and I were all three to go a-pleasuring there ?' ' My master,' replied Ibrahim, ' God knows you have spoken well ; your slave too was imagining how delightful it would be. If it * A suburb of Constantinople on the Asiatic side ot the Sea of Marmara. 58 THE STORY OF JEW AD. please God (exalted be He / ) after to-morrow, which is Friday and the hoHday of all the folk at Hayder Pasha, your slave and Monla Emln will get ready some eatables.' Said Jewad, ' My lord, there is no need for you to trouble ; I, your slave, have one or two domestics who prepare exceeding delicious dishes ; I shall take them and go over first. If at two o'clock you and Monla Emin get into a boat and come across, you will find your slave in the Chief Florist's Garden." And they agreed thereto. On the appointed day at two o'clock, as had been arranged, Ibrahim Chelebi and Monla Emm got into a boat and passed over to Hayder Pasha. What did they see? — in the Chief Florist's Garden was a regal parade. They wondered where Jewad could be, and just as they were going to search for him, a handsome, well-dressed page, with some servants, came up to them, and ap- proaching Ibrahim Chelebi, saluted him, and said, ' Our master has seen your arrival with a spy-glass, and he desires you.' Poor THE STORY OF JEWAD. 59 Ibrahim Chelebi and Emin could not think what had befallen them, and when with fear and trembling they entered the Garden, many- pages came forward to salute them, and they brought them before a magnificent tent formed of a single piece of gold brocade ; and they saw that the Padishah of the Age who sat therein clad in lovely raiment was Jewad. When Jewad saw Ibrahim Chelebi he laughed aloud and said, ' Come, brothers, it seems you have been searching for us much.' They could not utter a word, and bewildered, were about to kiss his skirt, but he hindered them saying, ' I seek pardon of God, brothers, our wish is not to overpower you ; but I thought, ' What diversion were there in a poor stroll ? Let us have a kingly spectacle.' If you love God, change not )'Our manner ; and if you are afraid we shall leave this pageantry and go alone beneath the trees ; come then, my lords.' And he took his companions and seated them by his side. After coffee had been partaken of in regal style, he said, ' Come, let us go up.* 6o THE STORY OF JEWAD. And with Serjeants bearing Chinese bells * marching along-side of them and crying to the people to form in order, and with pages respectfully leading them, they ascended in pomp to an elevated saloon like unto the vault of heaven. All the attendants in that palace were rosy-cheeked damsels; these met them at the head of the steps with jewelled censers, and respectfully conducted them to a lofty pavilion, the walls and doors whereof were like the lustres called 'jewelled musks,' which women fasten on their heads. The description of the garniture of a pavilion of which the very walls were begemmed is needless. About five hundred slave-girls, beautiful, distracters of the world, stood ready to serve ; some of them were attired in the usual garb of women ; others in trousers, waistcoat, jacket, and small fez, with coiled top-knot; others again in petticoats like Frankish women ; and others like sailors. * The military musical instinment called dn French chapeau 4rhinois. The Turkish name is chevgan ; none of the dictionaries give this meaning of that word. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 6 1 Greek islanders, and seraglio pages with turbaned cap and girdled waist. The friends sat down in the place of honour in the pavilion, round a jewel-set golden tray, whereon were spread, like a Ramazan break- fast, a thousand unknown and unheard-of conserves and fruits and other things, such as salads and Candian curds. After partaking of many strange and wonderful delicacies and luxuries, flavoured with attar and ambergris and musk, — things which had never entered into the mind of the cook, the Sphere, — they washed their hands in a basin made of a single emerald, the ewer of which was of a single ruby, and when they had wiped them with embroidered towels of silk of Esterabad, they went into a room whereof the doors and walls were of carved and graven aloes-wood of Maverd, gold-embossed, and the windows of crystal-like diamond, and the cushions and carpets of the embroidery of Lahore and Cashmere, one in hue. Some two hundred slave-girls clad in splendid garments in shade like the garniture stood ready to serve. 62 THE STORY OF JEWAD. Coffee and pipes were brought ; and after thirty slave-girl musicians, singers and dan- cers, had appeared and entertained them by their arts, they commenced to converse, and Jewad thus addressed Ibrahim Chelebi, 'O, my lord, I know that you now think these things which you behold to be like the magic enchantments of Bloody 'Ayesha, and that your heart is no longer troubled ; but be it known unto you that not only this which you see, but worlds as they actually exist (many times more strange and marvellous than this), which may not be conceived or imagined, are gifts from the Creator to the Adepts. Through the power of God (exalted be He /) repose is granted to our wishes in these worlds during what time we desire. These things are not sorcery, or magic, or spells, or enchantment, or delusions ; keep your mind at rest, be not dismayed. The cause of your having seen this world, and of your virtues, is but the favour of the Lord Most High towards you. Well, now, Monla Emin, my wish is to marry thee ; i/ii please THE STORY OF JEWAD. 63 God (exalted be He /) thou shalt forget the sorrows thou hast endured.' ' Call a messenger,' cried Jewad to the slave-girls ; and immediately there entered a dwarf, hairy and bearded, with propor- tionate hands and feet, and a cap as high as himself upon his head, and suitable clothes upon his shoulders, and he stood respect- fully before them. Then Jewad thus com- manded him : ' Khayall Chawush, thou shalt go forth and traverse the whole face of the earth, and of every noble and high-born damsel, worthy to be married to myself, whom thou dost see among the pure virgins, ladies of beauty and loveliness, of all the nations who dwell in the Inhabited Quarter, thou shalt paint the likeness, each on a separate sheet of paper, and write down her name and fame and age and city and parish ; and bring these to me forthwith.' And the dwarf said, ' Command and decree are of our lord,' and he kissed the ground and de- parted. An hour had not passed ere he re- turned with a box upon his shoulders, which 64 THE STORY OF JEWAD. he placed beside Jewad. The latter opened the box and called Emin and Ibrahim Chelebi to come and see ; and they were engrossed with the spectacle. First they saw the picture of a soul-ravishing maiden which bewildered the understanding, and thereunder was written : ' This is the por- trait of Ferah-Naz, the daughter of Lari Khan the present monarch of the kingdom of Cathay, and she dwells in the imperial palace of the City of Pekin : her • age is seventeen, and her height a builder's cubit and four-and-fifty ells.' After looking at this picture they lifted it up, and beneath it was a portrait still more beautiful, on which the name, abode, rank, age, and height were detailed in like manner. They took from under it another picture, which when Emin's eyes beheld, he became himself like a lifeless picture, and fell down in a swoon. Jewad and Ibrahim Chelebi on seeing this, sprinkled rose-water upon his face and brought him to himself When Jewad read beneath the picture this description : ' This is the por- THE STORY OF JEWAD. 6$ trait of Khayal Khanim, daughter of 'Abbas Agha of the chartered fief-holders, who dwells in the City of Aleppo in the RehavT qua;rter,' he knew the reason of Emin's fainting, and he was pleased. ' My Emin,* said he, ' if it be thus, good tidings to thee, thy desire is accomplished ;' and he gave him glad news and comforted him. 'Brother,' continued he, 'be it known unto thee that of every form produced by sorcery or enchantment, there must of necessity be some original exactly similar ; but I feared lest what thou hadst seen were the image of one dead : thank God that that Khayal Khanim whom thou didst see and fall in love with is now alive ; henceforth shall she be thy real wife. An it be thy will, I shall cause her now to be brought hither, but I would that I should accomplish it without letting the clue become public ; so, pray, for a few days have patience.* Then he turned the reins of discourse to another quarter. They remained there en- joying themselves till nearly ten o'clock. 66 THE STORY OF JEWAD. when Jewad said, ' O brothers, it is time for us to return to our homes ; do you go first' And the body of pages escorted Ibrahim Chelebi and Emin with honour as far as the gate, then they went to the land- ing-stage of Hayder Pasha, got into their boat, and returned each to his house. All that night till morning, sleep came not to the eyes of Emin or Ibrahim Chelebi, for they remained imagining and marvelling, and mazed and wondering. They went to the shop, and while they were sitting silent and overpowered from the perfectness of their bewilderment, musing upon the events that had occurred, Jewad appeared before the shop in his ordinary guise, gay and happy, joyous and smiling ; and he saluted them and came in and sat down. Ibrahim Chelebi prepared coffee, and departing not in any wise from his usual wont, he made no slip in appearing as though he had seen nought of what had happened. Some hours later, when the rest of the companions had dispersed, and only the three remained in THE STORY OF JEWAD. 6/ the shop, Jewad said to Ibrahim Chelebi, ' O brother, Emin is anxious now, let us get for him his darHng ; but I pray that you follow my plan in this matter.' Ibrahim answered, ' On head and eye ;'* and Jewad thus instructed him : 'If it please God (ex- alted be He!), do thou rent to-morrow a large mansion and get for thyself and Emin some suits of clothes such as are worn by grandees ; procure likewise two horses, some servants, and all other needful things ; and give thyself out as a farmer of revenues ; go to the requisite places, and doubling or tripling the present sum, request the Col- lectorship of Aleppo. Heed not how the money goes ; I will send a slave to thy side who shall always provide the needful amount; when thou hast got the CoUectorship, we shall see each other and talk further.' So saying, he arose and went away. The next morning Ibrahim Chelebi went forth his house and proceeded to the Suley- maniyya quarter, and asked from the imam * /. c, most willingly. 68 THE STORY OF JEWAD. of the Cherry Mosque * the hire of a mansion of twenty rooms. The imam went with him till they came to a lofty house opposite the Aqueduct. When they had looked over the house, the imam said, ' Its rent is two hundred and fifty piastres a-month ; but six months' rent is required in advance, and un- til it be received I cannot give up the key.' Ibrahim Chelebi began to think, ' Truly we ought not to have sought a house till we had gotten the money,' and was thus pondering when some one touched his arm. He turned to see who it was, and beheld one of the slaves with fur-trimmed caps whom he had previously seen with Jewad. The slave said, ' My master, shall I give the money to the imam ?' and he drew from his breast a purse which might contain three thousand piastres in shining Venetian sequins, and counted the money into the imam's hand. He then took the key and thrust it into his girdle, and said, ' O my master, your slave shall bring uphol- sterers to furnish the house ; do you go to * The Kirazli Mesjidi, built by the Su-bashi Sunleyma. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 69 the bazaar and buy raiment and other things according to your taste, your slave, too, shall come behind you.' Ibrahim Chelebi went to the shop and informed Emin of all that had happened, and took him with him to the bazaar, and when they purchased garments the slave appeared and paid the money. In short, after buying all manner of things they went to the mansion, which they found garnished with furniture of great price. In three or four such days they had a magnifi- cent establishment with slaves, horses, and all accessories ; and Ibrahim Chelebi and Monla Emin, giving out that they were father and son, attired themselves in the style of the highest nobles of the capital. After finding out about it, Ibrahim Chelebi, offering much in addition to the amount of the former year, requested the CoUectorship of Aleppo. He gave the money to the officials in advance, and was arrayed in a robe of honour and appointed Collector of Aleppo. Some days afterwards appeared Jewad, •JO THE STORY OF JEWAD. crying ' Hu / 'Aztzim/ ey-valldhf* With, a BektashI turban on his head, a neat robe upon his shoulders, a white cloth cloak and other dervish gear ; and he said, 'Welcome, my master.' Ibrahim Chelebi and Emin Efendi rose to the saint with all honour and respect. The attendants and others present, imagining him to be the sheykh of His Excellency the Agha, stood reverently with hands folded across the girdle. When they were alone, Jewad said, ' O brothers, hence- forward it is necessary that I be with you ; when the time comes take a largish ship and we shall go to the desired quarter. Do you give me a room apart, but show me no greater respect than is usually accorded sheykhs, lest the people become curious.' So he retired to a private room. When the time for taking possession of the Collector- ship drew nigh, they hired a special ship, in which they embarked and set off in the de- sired direction. * Pious ejaculations used by dervishes. Tlie Bektashi Order of dervishes is one of the most celebrated. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 7 1 With favouring weather they reached Aleppo in a short time, and, spreading the carpet of ease and repose, busied them- selves with delight. As there was no regis- try of capital, they laid the foundations of friendship and familiarity, and showed to every person the greatest kindness. They became acquainted with the grandees and notables, and prepared banquets in the gar- dens, and so won the heart of each indi- vidual that they became the beloved of high and low. Market and bazaar, khan and house, coffee-house and tavern, were filled with lauds and praises of the virtues of the Collector. As every one was pleased one way or other to meet Jewad, the original cause of their coming. Abbas Agha himself, one day came to visit them. What did they see ? — there was no need of question or of divination, he was altogether the person they had seen before ; tTiere was not a hair's difference in his circumstances, motions, speech, or appearance ; there was but this ^ 72 THE STORY OF JEWAD. much difference, that he did not know them or salute them, otherwise his actions were exactly those of the well-known 'Abbas Agha whom they had seen in the Sublime Capital. As much friendliness was mani- fested on both sides, 'Abbas Agha was again, after a lapse of two days, summoned before them. After having invited him a few times to their parties, where they treated him with kindness, he became an every-day visitor. Particularly as he perceived that Jewad Baba, the Collector's sheykh, was a possessor of understanding and an un- equalled sage, he would hardly ever be away from his virtuous society. So one day Jewad opened the mouth of wisdom, and began to disclose what was in his heart, saying to 'Abbas Agha, ' Father Agha, it is well known to you that our Col- lector's son Emin Efendi is a polite and in- telligent person ; certain of the grandees of the Sublime Empire wished him for son-in- law ; but as the ways of the Capital are displeasing to my poor taste, I would not THE STORY OF JEWAD. y], consent to his marrying. I have heard that my lord has a virtuous daughter, and have enquired into the matter, and made sure. Now my wish is to make him son-in-law to you, with the condition that even should Ibrahim Agha be dismissed (which will not be the case) Emin Efendi continue to abide in Aleppo ; that is, that he take not your daughter to the Capital, but remain beside you.' Well, after some discussion, they agreed upon the amount of the stipulated dower ; and Khayal Khanim daughter of 'Abbas Agha was married to Emln Efendi. Tents were pitched in front of the convent of Sheykh Bekr ; and rope-dancers, jug- glers, acrobats, dancers, conjurors, minstrels, and players afforded entertainment. At night all sorts of fireworks were displayed ; and thus for a whole week all the people, high and low, enjoyed themselves with feasts and music.' On the completion of the wed- ding ceremonies in this fashion, with prayers and blessings they conducted Emln Efendi to the nuptial-chamber of his wishes. When, 74 THE STORY OF JEWAD. after performing the wedding prayer, he raised the veil from the face of the bride and saw his wife who a year ago had died and for whom he had longed and yearned so much, now his senses fled away, leaving him bewildered, and now he became excited, sighing and crying. However, he praised and thanked God, and remained in perfect delight till morning, sleep entering not his eyes. For the purpose of thanking, he went before his master, and first kissed the hand of Jewad and received his blessing, next he kissed that of Ibrahim Agha who acted as his kind father ; and then went back to his beloved. For three weeks he remained in the bridal apartments without coming forth ; and afterwards he occupied himself attending the meetings held by his father and the sheykh. About a month after his marriage, Jewad called Ibrahim Chelebi and Emin Efendi before him, and, after a few introductory words, said, ' O brothers, you know how ' every union hath its parting ;' the necessity THE STORY OF JEWAD. 75 of travel has become manifest to your slave. It is needful that, with your permission, I set forth to journey. I confide you to God. For as long as you wear the borrowed robe of life in this transient world, to my master 50,000 and to Emin Efendi 50,000, together 100,000 piastres a-year, has been appointed as income. On the first day of Muharrem, which is the beginning of the year, that slave whom you know shall come, through power, to the place where you are, and give the money into your hands ; so you will not be troubled about the necessities of life. Forget me not in your prayers.' And he joined himself to a caravan about to go into the land of Persia, leaving Ibrahim Agha and Emln Efendi in the corner of separation, and set forth with the desire of travelling through this perishing world. So let the wonder-working Jewad remain viewing the power of God, wandering through towns and cities. ^6 THE STORY OF JEWAD. THE STORY OF FERAH-NAZ, THE DAUGHTER OF THE KING OF CHINA. Thus doth the sweet-tongued reed relate and narrate another wondrous tale: — Lari Khan, King of the realms of China, had a lovely daughter named Ferah-Naz, the fame of whose beauty and grace and charms and elegance resounded through the world. Though the comeliness of her person thus threw cities into confusion, her nature and character were so sweet and pleasant that the neighbouring emperors and kings de- sired her in marriage, and sought for union with her, expending the coin of their lives. But Ferah-Naz misliked the companionship •of men, and chose, like the Virgin Mary, the corner of maidenhood. Her aged father was displeased at this her conduct, and, summoning Libaba, his daughter's nurse, to a private interview, he said, ' No one save thou can discover what is the reason and cause of this girl's unwillingness to marry. THE STORY OF JEWAD. "JJ I wish thee to find out what it is. If she desire not any of the kings and vezirs, but has some one other in view, there is no hin- drance ; howsoever mean a person he may be, it were an easy matter for our royal power to exalt him and render him fit to be her mate ; only I wish to behold a grand- son. Thou must discover what Ferah-Nar has on her mind, and inform us concerning it.' And he strongly urged this upon Li- baba. She accepted the King's command, but said, ' My master, your handmaid shall undertake to unveil the mind and thoughts of Ferah-Naz ; but it is known to Your Majesty that Her Highness the Princess is not as other women : she is a lady endowed with high qualities, upright, learned, versed in the general and special sciences, ac- quainted with the ways of the world, and skilled in polite disputation ; she will not easily give up her secret; I pray of your favour that you hurry me not.' When she obtained permission, she re- turned to her establishment, and, after 78 THE STORY OF JEWAD. countless reflections, when it was evening she went, as of wont, to the room of Ferah- Naz to pass the night. She sat down, and, after many pleasant words, conformably to the saying ' speech leads to speech,' she brought about an opportunity and said to Ferah-Naz with tearful eyes and mournful face, ' My mistress, I have a question to ask of you, an it vex not your gentle mind.' ' / seek pardon of God, speak,' answered the Princess. So the nurse thus began her task : ' My mistress, in ancient times and past ages many and many lovers and loved ones came into this world, the histories of most of whom your handmaid has studied ; some thousands of stories concerning them re- main in the memory of your well-wisher. Each one had a confidant, a sympathising friend, a self-sacrificer — such was the wont of those of yore. But my opinion and be- lief is this, that not one of those of old time had a slave, a tender handmaid, a proved concealer of secrets, like this slave of yours ; now, certain actions of my mistress have THE STORY OF JEWAD. 79 made her handmaid heart-sore.' Thus go- ing straight to her aim, she sought to fathom Ferah-Naz, and continued : ' My mistress, many times the neighbouring princes, es- pecially the son of the King of Ceylon, who is in beauty unique in the age, have sought you in marriage ; since your answers to all have been absolute despair, grief of heart has overtaken your handmaid. So long as we wear the robe of humanity do human impulses and carnal cravings encircle all of us. And while it is apparent that there must be some hidden reason for this choice of singleness, why confide you not to your handmaid the search for the remedy of your secret grief, but treat her like a stranger ?' Ferah-Naz smiled wonderingly and said to her nurse with a countenance of dis- pleasure, ' O lady, mother, you know this your daughter to be a lady of understand- ing, yet you imagine that she is as the daughters of the people, swayed by the flesh and overcome of carnal desires. But it is evident from your words (seeing that 8o THE STORY OF JEWAD. you have never before during so long a time spoken of this matter, and to-night with an excuse so feeble make thus bold an enquiry) that your audacity arises not merely from your own zeal, but is to increase the knowl- edge of my kind and gracious father. Still, as you are so urgent in your questioning, it is needful that I disclose to you what is on my mind: — One night, three years ago, I saw in a vision a prince, peerless in beauty, hard by a garden ; never in my life had I beheld the like of him. With the longing of humanity I was bewildered at his beauty, when of a sudden, while I was gazing upon him, two deer, a buck and a doe, came into the garden. The buck began to run about, but his foot got caught in a snare, which when the doe saw, she came and brake the snare, and set free her mate. They had not gone two steps ere the doe was likewise caught in a trap, and though she showed her distress, the buck cared not about his comrade's capture, but ran off and left her. When I awoke from sleep I thought much THE STORY OF JEWAD. 8 1 and interpreted my dream as a celestial warning to me that if they were to offer me a mate, even though fair as he whom I had seen, I should not accept him ; for husbands show no constancy towards their wives. Behold, by reason of this celestial warning I cannot marry ; do you, my mother, and you, my kind father, both give up this fancy ; for your counsel and advice can in no wise take effect.' The nurse, after many excuses for her former speech, said, ' My mistress, if leave be given to me your handmaid, I pray you graciously to reflect upon my humble words. I can prove that this vision you have re- lated is not divine ; for the glorious Creator of men and jinn has made the coupling of male and female the visible cause of the ex- istence of these countless, numberless crea- tures. It is evident that such a warning were contrary to the will of the Creator ; it is apparent upon the least reflection that this vision is a Satanic deception, which, fixing itself thus firmly in your noble and virtuous 82 THE STORY OF JEWAD. mind, has caused you, my mistress, to for- get the pleasure of your parents and the pleasure of God. The apprehension and delusion which causes you to oppose your father's pleasure is clearly an instigation of the devil. Moreover, I can conclusively and surely prove that men are more constant in their troth than women ; a true example of my humble assertion is the story of Khoja 'Abdu-'llah which I can relate to the Prin- cess : — THE STORY OF KHOJA 'ABDU-'LLAH. " One day, while Harunu-'r-Reshld, who was the most bounteous, illustrious, and up- right of the 'AbbasI Khalifs, and in every way the most munificent in generosity of his predecessors or successors, was convers- ing with Ja'fer, his vezir, he vaunted himself much on his beneficence and liberality, and, forgetting himself, said, ' Is there in this age anyone more bountiful than we or more THE STORY OF JEWAD. 83 lavish in g-enerosity to the world?' Ja'fer boldly replied, ' My master, there is in Basra a man of good family whom they call Khoja 'Abdu-'llah ; and if all the rulers of the earth were to assemble together and exert every effort thereto, they could not give away as much wealth as he bestows on the deserving in a single day.' Harun's heart was contracted at these words, and saying, ' If that be so, it has become imperative to go to Basra and see this man,' he disguised himself as a qalender,* and set out with two trusty servants ; and arrived at Basra. " On asking of one of the people, accord- ing to the wont of strangers^ which of the caravanseries, that is khans, was suitable to their circumstances, the man replied, ' Holy men, Khoja 'Abdu-'llah has special guest- houses in this place, faqirs like yourselves ought not to go elsewhere ; come, my fathers, I will conduct you.' And he led them to a great gate. When the attendants of the guest-house, who were set apart for * A wandering dervish. 84 THE STORY OF JEWAD. this duty saw the dervishes, ten of them came forth the gate and met them with the greeting, ' Welcome, and fair welcome ;' and they took them to a room in an upper story. From the furniture of the room, Harun im- agined it to be one of the Khoja's private apartments. Straightway attendants brought in basin and ewer, and washed the dust of the road from their faces. After coffee and pipes,* came three trays of delicious and delicate foods, which were placed on the stools and partaken of; and as night was come, clean, fresh beds were spread, and they rested in sweet sleep till morning. Then one of the attendants came and said, ' My lord, the guest-house has a private bath, pleasant and cleanly ; if you have a mind thereto, pray, come.' Harun, to whom observation was as a second nature, arose and went to the bath with the attendant. He saw it to be a bath the like of which did * This is, of course, an anachronism ; coffee and tobacco were not in use till long after the close of the 'AbbasI Khalifate ; but this story, like all the others (except the incident of the Chinese priests), illustrates old Turkish life. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 85 not then exist in Baghdad, the Abode of the KhaUfate. With all respect the attendants of the bath led the sheykh to a bench, stript him of his dervish robe and wrapped him in heavy towels and brought him into the warm-bath apartment, where two lovely servants rubbed and washed him with bag and soap, and then perfumed him with aloes-wood and ambergris, and led him into the dressing-room. There they dried him gently, put on his clothes, and, having con- ducted him back to his room, prepared breakfast, which he partook of and then rested. " Three days passed thus, and on the fourth he said to one of the attendants, 'This courtesy and kindness is good, but cannot we see our host Khoja 'Abdu-'llah ?' The servant answered on this wise, ' The Khoja has thus directed us : — " Trouble not any of the guests by saying, ' Go to the Khoja,' unless he desire to come to us :" therefore it depends upon your wish — if it be your desire, come, I shall take you.' 86 THE STORY Ol" JEWAD. Harun left his companions in the guest- house and went alone ; they entered through a great gate into a vast and spacious court, in which stood ready harnessed about a hundred Arab horses tied in a row and decorated with princely saddles and capari- sons. When they perceived the guest, many handsomely-dressed attendants, of the at- tendants of the palace, came forward to greet him, and, taking hold of his skirt and arms, reverently led him up. He saw a lofty saloon containing about forty doors, over each of which was hung a curtain, like the canopy of a throne, all of one colour, and he judged each curtain to be worth a hundred purses. They raised one of the curtains and said, ' Go forward.' When he entered the room, its adornment with deco- rations such as cannot be described plunged Harun into amazement. On seeing his guest, the Khoja advanced to the threshold of the room, saying, ' My master, father, sultan, you have honoured us ; all hail !' And he seated Harun in the place of honour, THE STORY OF JEWAD. 8/ and sat down near him, and began to en- treat him with courtesy and kindness. "After coffee and sherbets had been drunk and other ceremonies of that time observed, the Khoja said, ' Come, my lord, let us eat,' and he led him into another room more magnificent than the first, and they sat down at a spread table and partook of food. Let us not expatiate on the qualities of the meats or the description of the vases and vessels. When finished they went into an- other room and gave themselves up to ease ; Khoja 'Abdu-'llah, begging to be excused, asked, ' My saint, whence have you brought honour ? Of what land are you a son ?' 'My master,' replied Harun, 'our name is Muhammed, and our land Baghdad the Abode of the Khalifate.' The Khoja mani- fested.great delight, and said, 'My saint, you are a fellow-townsman ; your slave too is originally of Baghdad,' and they continued to converse earnestly and profoundly. The Khoja introduced the subject of objects of ver.tu, and said, ' My lord, it is true that there 88 THE STOKY OF JEWAD. are no curiosities the like of which may not be found in the Abode of the Khalifate ; but this poor slave of yours has a jewelled image of a lemon-tree which is in his belief a rarity.' ' Bring it,' cried he, ' and let the father, my fellow-townsman, see it.' A Cathayan slave- boy, a loveling of world-disturbing beauty, whose like for comeliness Harun had never seen in all his life, clad in costly garments, brought in a curiosity of immense value, a flower-pot formed of a single ruby in which was a large tree, the branches whereof were made of gold, the blossoms of diamonds, the leaves of emeralds, the lemons of topazes, and the oranges of rubies. The boy kissed the skirt of the sheykh's robe and placed the tree beside him for examination. While Harun was wondering whether to look at the boy or inspect the tree, the Khoja said, ' Take it away.' ' By God, my master,' said the sheykh, ' the truth is this, that that is a curiosity such as exists not in the Khalif's treasury. ' My lord,' replied the other, ' while you are with your slave there is al- THE STORY OF JEWAD. 89 ways by him an object of virtue.' ' Bring- that parrot-cage !' Immediately there ap- peared a slave-girl, more beautiful than the boy, adorned with ornaments and decora- tions, bearing a cage, which she placed be- side the sheykh, whose hand she kissed. It was a cage embellished with peerless jewels, and in it was a parrot, formed from one emerald, which every quarter of an hour spake in a strange tongue. It also they left but a very brief while, and then bore away. Six such wonderful curiosities were seen, three of which were brought by boys and three by damsels. Harun grew angry and said in himself, ' It beseems not the rank of this fellow that he unseasonably shows off curiosities for glory among men ;' and he asked permission to depart. ' By God, my brother !' said the Khoja, ' I pray that you will honour me again ;' and he accompanied him to the door of the room. " When Harun descended to the horse- block they brought forward one of the choice steeds, and mounted him thereon, and go THE STORY OF JEWAD. two servants, marching at his stirrups, con- ducted him to the guest-house. On enter- ing the room, what did he behold ? — the three damsels and the three boys, along with the curiosities he had seen, were stand- ing in the apartment. One of the boys had a note in his hand which he presented to Harun, and in it was written : ' The follow- ing trifling objects are presented to Sheykh Muhammed, of Baghdad, by Khoja 'Abdu- 'llah on the second day of such and such a month: — slave-girls, three; beardless slave-youths, three ; Cossack slaves attired as servants, two; curiosities, six; caparisoned horse, one ; sequins for one month's ex- penses, five thousand.' When Harun read this note his senses were bewildered, and he said in himself, 'That he should give such objects to a miserable BektashI is a thing which cannot come within the scale of understanding ; there must be some hidden mystery here, but until I disclose myself to the Khoja it is manifestly impossible to learn his secret. But to disclose myself in THE STORY OF JEWAD 91 this State were derogatory to the dignity of the KhaHfate ; it were more becoming to hasten forthwith to Baghdad, and, summon- ing Khoja 'Abdu-'llah to the Abode of the Khahfate, ask of him his secret and so solve the puzzle.' " The next day he set out ; and when he reached Baghdad he informed Ja'fer of what had happened. So an order was written to bring thither Khoja 'Abdu-'llah with all be- coming respect and honour, and one of the chamberlains was despatched. In twenty days, the chamberlain returned and reported that, three days before his reaching Basra, Khoja 'Abdu-'llah had passed away to the Abode of Permanency, and that therefore meeting with him was deferred till the Resurrection- Day. The Khalif mourned passing sore at this news, and bewailed the death of Khoja 'Abdu-'llah. " A year and three months after this, a son named Me'mun* was born to Harun, and one day while the month of festivities was in ' He was afterwards Khalif. 92 THE STORY OF JEWAD. progress, when dancers were performing at the Imperial palace and a great throng of people was assembled to see them, one of the slaves whom Khoja 'Abdu-'llah had pre- sented to the Khalif perceived 'Abdu-'llah in the dress of a beggar, standing among the spectators. He went to his side and said, ' My master, is it thou ?' And, waiting not while 'Abdu-'llah said this thing and that thing, he ran off and told the Khalif Harun despatched an officer along with the slave, telling the former to bring the person whom the latter pointed out. When the Khalif saw him he recognised him beyond all doubt, and ordered him to sit down ; and he displayed all manner of kindness towards him, with honour and respect. After his fears had been dispelled, he sent him to the bath and clad him in one of his own suits of clothes. Harun dined with him and re- moved all cares of ceremony and pomp, and retired into a private room with Ja'fer and 'Abdu-'llah, and, spreading the carpet of familiarity, said, ' O Khoja 'Abdu-'llah, THE STORY OF JEWAD. 93 knowest thou me ?' ' My lord,' replied the Khoja, ' how should not I know you ? no one can doubt that you are our lord who now sits upon the Throne of the Khalifate, that your slave should not know you.' ' N^iy,' said Harun, 'but have you never seen me before, in another place, and in other guise?' ' No, my lord,' was the reply, and the Khoja pondered. Then the Khalif explained to him how he had gone, expressly to see him, in the dress of a qalender: how he had lodged in his guest-house, how he had been treated by him with exceeding kindness, and how he had, in consequence, sent an officer to summon him who had brought back word of his death. Next he asked the cause of all that had happened, and said, 'What is the reason of your now coming hither in beggar's guise, of your having fallen into this poverty- and penury, while you used to be possessor of so great wealth ?' ' My lord,' replied he, ' the adventures of your slave are marvellous, and his experiences wonderful ; if it weary you not, he shall relate what has 94 THE STORY OF JEWAD. befallen him from the commencement of his fortunes till this hour.' Permission being accorded, he thus began his story. " ' There was in the Abode of the Khali- fate, during the reign of your departed father, a famous merchant, by name Nasr. I am his son. On the death of my father, I was only sixteen years old ; a youth, beau- tiful and comely, inclined to pleasure and mirth, heedless, of the heat and cold of for- tune. Thinking not of the extent of the vast wealth which my father had earned by the labour of his right hand and the sweat of his brow, I wasted and squandered and lavished and lost it, and sank so low that I considered with myself how it were better to die in a foreign land than to live in deg- radation among my associates and equals. So, saying to myself, ' I have no resource but travel,' I became servant to one of a caravan about to start, and went into Egypt. "'The day we entered Cairo, I left my companions, and set out alone to see the THE STORY OF JEWAD. 95 bazaars of the city. While I was wander- ing aimlessly along, my eyes fell upon a houri-like damsel about to shut a window in a lofty mansion. A single glance at her so took me out of myself that my senses and reason and understanding passed away, and I fell upon the ground. I lay on the street for about an hour unconscious, like a lifeless figure. When my senses were in a measure returned, I reasoned strenuously with my- self and, rushing away, went back to the khan where we had alighted with the cara- van. Free from all thoughts of food or drink, I remained that night in a corner, reasoning with myself till dawn. Now tears overcame me, and I would weep, and now reason got the upper hand, and I would say, ' O luckless one ! it sufficeth not that, fallen into the dust of degradation and sunken from affluence to indigence, covered with shame and disgrace among thy comrades, thou hast had to choose exile and banish- ment, struggling on. What hath befallen thee that thou must become enamoured of a 96 THE STORY OF JEWAD. form concerning which thou knowest nothing- — above all, as it is manifest from its em- bellishments and walls that the mansion in which thou sawest the phantom is the estab- lishment of one of the greatest of the gran- dees of this country ? Setting that aside, and supposing she were the daughter of one of the lowest and meanest of the people, thou couldst not marry her. Who would have aught to do with thee in such a guise — who would look upon thee in such rags ? This is a vain thing, the result of thy calamities. The Tempter hath taken the form of a woman to plunge thee into the abyss of ruin, he is so eager for thy life.' " ' Howsoever much I strove to shake oif and forget my longing, showing its futility to my unhappy self, it was vain ; and when the dawn appeared I arose, and again went straight to opposite the window, and sat down, and, after the manner of beggars, bowing my head, besought alms of the passers-by. But of what use ? It was im- possible for me to withdraw my eyes for a THE STORY OF JEWAD. 97 single moment from the window. Food and drink passed altogether away from my mind. In the evening I went to the khan, and in the morning to the corner opposite the win- dow ; and seven days passed thus distract- edly, and I neither ate nor drank. At length my frame grew so weak that I was unable to return to the khan, when, lo ! an old woman came forth with a bowl of soup and a loaf of fine bread in her hand, which she placed before me, and said, ' They have sent thee this bread and soup from the palace which is opposite ; take and eat.' From the greatness of my joy and delight, I ate. She took the bowl, and asked, 'Whence art thou ?' I told her that I was of a strange country, and informed her of the khan where I passed the night. And she put ten sequins into my hand, and said, ' Take these, and go to the khan where thou lodgest, and come hither no more.' " ' Having no resource, I returned to the khan weeping, and sat down, sad and sor- rowful, in my accustomed corner. I mourned, 7 98 THE STORY OF JEWAD. sighing, ' Would to God that I had died of my hunger opposite to my beloved !' And thus the night passed. When it was morn- ing, I saw the old woman coming again with soup and fine bread in her hand, and she placed them beside me, and saluted me, and said, ' O hapless one, how art thou ?' My hands and feet trembled through joy, and I began to weep. She asked, ' Who art thou, and from what land art thou come, and what business hast thou here ?' So I narrated to her briefly my fortunes and ad- ventures. When she said, ' What is the cause of thy being thus ill ?' I, fearing to reveal, remained silent. ' Be not afraid,' said she, ' I am none of the indiscreet ; re- late to me thy woes.' So, with a thousand writhings, I loosed the collar of speech, and hinted how I had encountered a phantom from behind the veil. Drivine horses over me, she compelled me to speak plainly and confess all ; and then she said, ' O unhappy one, that mansion which thou sawest is the palace of Mansur-Bi-'llah, the present Sul- THE STORY OF JEWAD. 99 tan of Egypt, and that damsel is one of his favourite slave-girls ; to turn thy thoughts to thus impossible a fancy is unlawful for a man like thee, and an abyss of ruin. It -were best to drive these frightful thoughts altogether from thy mind, and to occupy thyself with some work that will earn thy daily bread.' Smiling sadly, I replied, ' O my mistress, mother, lady — all these words are vain. What fear ? What ruin ? What daily bread ? My work is finished. I knew from the beginning that this fancy was vain. But this matter is from Destiny. For me there is no remedy save to die thinking on the loved one, and, in the Hereafter, to be raised with Mejnun and Ferhad and Wamiq and 'Azra* — one of the victims of Love. The time for advice is past. But I beg of you, my mother, that, if you bring me this bread and soup out of charity, you will, to favour me, bring it no more ; for the cursed flesh cannot refrain from eating, and if I eat but once in three or four days the event will * The names of famous lovers in the Eastern romances. lOO THE STORY OF JEWAD. be delayed, and you will be guilty ; for to die were to me great joy — do not, with your soup and bread, deprive me of that joy.' " ' When I had, with fervour like to that, told the old woman what lay on my heart, she was constrained to tears, and full bitterly did she weep for my case ; and she took the bowl and went away. Although hopeless of ever possessing the beauty of the beloved, yet the learning who was my hitherto un- known mistress was that night a fresh wound in my heart, and yet a plaything. " ' When it was morning, the old woman again appeared, at the same hour as before, with soup and a package in her arms. I cried, ' Why have you brought this, and not listened to my request ?' and would have re- pulsed her, but she said, ' Take the soup this time, and be not rebellious, for that beauty, the love of whom has enslaved thee, sends thee greeting.' When she uttered these words, trembling seized my whole frame from head to foot ; and the bird, the soul, was well-nigh released from its cage. THE STORY OF JEWAD. lOI the body. Who could have looked at the soup ? I gazed at the source of the water of life, the lips of the old woman, to see if there might be there another blessing. Power of motion departed from me, but the old woman roused me from my bewilderment, and said, ' I have somewhat that has been confided to me to say to thee, but do thou first collect thy senses that thou mayst understand thee words I am about to speak.' At these glad tidings I came to myself; and when I ap- peared tranquil the old woman thus ad- dressed me : ' Son, there is no doubt that thy fortunes are of the hidden providence of God. She whom thou hast seen, and whom I have told thee to be of the favourite slave- girls of the Sultan of Egypt, is a pure vir- gin, a maiden modest as Mary, by name Durr-Dana. Two years ago, the Sultan of Egypt purchased her, and enrolled her among his wives ; but when she saw how much he inclined to other damsels, she re- pulsed his advances and opposed him, say- ing, 'Thou mayst slay me, but I will not I02 THE STORY OF JEWAD. submit to thee.' She has persisted in this attitude for two years, but by reason of her beauty and grace the Suhan of Egypt can- not bring himself to expel her ; and they are still in this contention. One day, when great weariness and vexation had come upon her, after the noon worship, she recited many supererogatory prayers, and, weeping, raised her hands to the Court of the Creator of all beings, and said, ' Make me the mate of a poor man, but constant, though the meanest of all the people, rather than the wife of thus faithless a Sultan, who knows not true worth.' And she humbled herself and wept, and thereupon she opened the win- dow and beheld thee ; and thou sawest her. And there came this thought into her sad heart — ' Lo ! meaner and poorer than yon man there cannot be, yet am I content with him, so that he be but of those that are con- stant.' She went the next day to the win- dow for a diversion, and beheld thee gazing abstractedly thereat, and, looking upon thee with attention, she perceived that no other THE STORY OF JEWAD. lOJ action proceeded from thee, and that thy eyes were ever fixed upon the window. Then she knew that the prayer she had made in sincerity had met with the Divine acceptance, and that thou hadst become enamoured of her at a single glance. After this, she watched thee for some days, and she wept, and love for thee took root in her breast. Fearing lest if thou were observed gazing at the harem windows they would, persecute thee, she sent me with the soup and supplies, and ordered that thou shouldst not return. When I told her all thy case, and how that thy death was at hand if she delayed, putting aside all other fears, she sent me to inform thee of the position. She has sent thee a suit of clothes and a hundred sequins, and begs that thou will repair to the bath, and cleanse thee, and put on these clothes, and enjoy thyself for four or five days in ease, and collect thy senses, and be hopeful of union with thy beloved. And when thou art all recovered and rested we shall think upon some plan.' 104 THE STORY OF JEWAD. " ' The joy that came upon me at this in- telligence will be understood of him who has loved a darling and fallen in the wilder- ness of woe. I straightway took the pack- age, kissed it, and raised it to my forehead. And I arose and, according to the command of the beloved, went to the bath and cleansed me of filth and mire, and put on the clothes that had been presented to me, and re- turned to the khan. I passed that night in perfect repose, and then began to think of eating and drinking ; and waited from mo- ment to moment, wondering what news would come from the direction of the loved one. A week passed thus, when the old woman again appeared and gave me new life with salutations and greetings from the -beloved. She said, ' Durr-Dana desires to converse with you. See, I have brought you a suit of female clothes and a cloak ; there is an empty ruined mosque in such and such a place, — come there, — I shall wait at the door while you change your dress, for I must conduct you to Durr-Dana; but be THE STORY OF JEWAD. 105 very careful, for if it become known, our fate is sealed.' I took the bundle of clothes, and we went to the ruined mosque ; where I did off my man's dress and arrayed myself as a woman. As I was a beardless youth my appearance in no wise differed from that of a female when I had put on the cloak and shawl ; and I walked by the side of the old woman as though I were her daughter. " ' We entered the palace at the time of the evening call to worship and we passed into a private room to the presence of Durr- Dana. When my eyes fell upon the face of my beloved, my breath was stopped and my senses fled away, and I fell to the ground. The old woman sprinkled rose-water on my face and brought me to myself again, and seated me at the side of the room. When my confusion was dispelled, Durr-Dana opened her gracious mouth and said ' 'Abdu- 'Ilah, behold, thy woes are ended. But in what way will thou be able to deliver me hence ? It is manifest that if I gave thee money and thou were to go about to pur- Io6 THE STORY OF JEWAD. chase me, it would be impossible ; nothing- remains but to seek some means of flight. If we betake ourselves to some other coun- try thou wilt there marry me. At present thou art not calm enough to devise plans ; but reflect well when alone. I too shall con- sider ; we can communicate by means of the old woman, and then take flight.' " ' Whilst we were talking, suddenly a noise was heard in the vestibule ; and I saw the Sultan of Egypt and twenty execu- tioners, with drawn swords, enter the room. The enemies of Durr-Dana had been watching and had given the clue. The Sul- tan rushed upon Durr-Dana, crying, 'O un- grateful wretch, is this the cause of thy aversion towards me ?' And as he raised his sword the executioners caught his hand and said, ' Master, that work is ours, do not you stain with blood your hand of glory !' He shouted, ' Take these wretches and bind their hands and feet and cast them into the River Nile !' So the executioners seized Durr-Dana and myself and made fast our THE STORY OF JEWAD. \Of hands and feet, and, two of them taking us upon their shoulders,^ carried us to the brink of the Nile. Having for so long looked for death, I had no fear thereof; but I grieved for Durr-Dana, and begged the executioner who was carrying me to cast me first into the river that I might not see Durr-Dana being drowned. He granted my request, and, raising me up, hurled me into the stream. I first sank to the bottom, but rose again to the surface, and, as it was the season of the overflow of the Nile, I was borne along a great distance in the twink- ling of an eye. I was filled up to the throat with water and my eyes were dimmed, when my foot got entangled at the ankle with the root of a reed, Now some Arabs who were fishing on the bank of the river saw me struggling, and, thinking it to be a fish, they came up to me. Seeing that the vital spark was still within me, they drew me out with the harpoon they had in their hands, and stretched me upon the sand, and, pressing my belly, got out the water I had swallowed ; I08 THE STORY OF JEWAD. and took off my wet clothes and clad me in a dry shirt of their own. After a time, my senses returned, and I grieved for that I had been saved after Durr-Dana had perished, and I sorrowed for my life. But what was the use ? I thanked the fishermen, and these put into my hand by way of charity a se- quin — one of those that had been in my pocket, and said, ' Now stay not, but be off.' "'I fared on for about an hour, but through sad sorrow and grief at parting from my beloved, and the shock of drowning, my strength was exhausted, and I sat down and thought in myself ' The only way possible to join my loved one is to die and be united with her in the Hereafter. Henceforward it is unbecoming for me to live ; but to throw myself into the River Nile and be drowned were unlawful. All undesirous of the world, my only resource is to retire into some cor- ner and await death from the anguish of separation.' I cast away the sequin that was in my hand, and went straight from the THE STORY OF JEWAD. I09 bank of the Nile. When it was near morn- ing, I happened to pass through a village, where I met the imam going to mosque. He, perceiving me to be a stranger, took me to the mosque, and we together performed the morning worship. When it was finished, he left me in the mosque, and went and brought a platter of qusqus,* which I ate for his sake. Then he asked if I were going to Rosetta, and when I replied that I was, he said, ' We have a barge going there this day : I shall put thee therein.' So he called the master and made me over to him. When we reached Rosetta, I got on board a ship going to the Syrian Tripoli, where, on our arrival, I joined a caravan, and wandered aimlessly through cities and towns till I came to Basra. " ' Five months had now passed since I left Egypt, and I was beginning to recover and regain my senses in a measure. I went to a coffee-house, the keeper of which, when he saw me, knew me to be a stranger, and * Name of a dish. I lO THE STORY OF JEWAD. entreated me kindly. After I had been for two days a guest in the coffee-house, the keeper said to me, ' Son, thou art i stranger here ; if thou wilt be my apprentice, I will give thee a monthly salary of so many pias- tres.' ' Most willingly,' replied I, ' but I want not the salary ; it is enough if thou give me of the food thou dost thyself eat.' And I kissed his hand, and entered with as- siduity into service at the coffee-house. " 'Thousands of people came to the cof- fee-house ; but there was one handsome, sweet-spoken, elegantly-dressed man, called All Efendi, who came regularly every day, and spent each day five or ten piastres. As he was a regular customer at the coffee- Tiouse, I showed greater honour and atten- tion to him than to any of the others ; and he grew very fond of me, and always treated me with kindness. One day, when we were alone in the shop, he called me to his side, and gently said, ' Abdu-'llah, I doubt not that thou art a high-born youth, but from what country art thou and of whom art thou THE STORY OF JEWAD. I I I the son ?' I tried to evade, but it was no use, he persisted ; so, when I saw I could not help it, I related to him in detail all that had befallen me. He was silent, and remained for a long time wondering and reflecting. A day or two afterwards, again finding me alone, he said, ' Son, thou must be miserable in this coffee-house ; come and reside with me, and I will make thee my son, and, if it please God (exalted be He / ), thou shalt be happy ! These words of the Efendi touched my heart, and I kissed his hand ; and he took me thence to his house. He had ten or so slaves besides myself In very truth, that man treated me in a fatherly manner, and paid much attention to my education ; he made me go about in all sorts of magni- ficent clothes, more sumptuous than his own, and always seated me beside himself and took great care in teaching me to read and write. " ' Two years passed thus, when my mas- ter 'All Efendi fell ill, and day by day his feebleness increased upon him. When he 112 THE STORY OF JEWAD. had reached the verge of dissolution and given up hope of recovery, he called me to his side, and having dismissed the other at- tendants, brought his face close to mine, and said, ' My son, 'Abdu-'llah, I have a testa- mentary bequest, a secret which I must make known to thee ; but thou must swear and convince me that thou wilt never disclose it to any one so long as thou livest.' When I had sworn by God, the High, the Most High, to conceal it, he continued, ' Son, I am possessor of a hidden treasure which has descended from my ancestors; since I have no children it has been decreed to thee ; and it is but for this trust that I have brought thee up. When I am dead and buried, thou wilt find it ; it is in such and such a place ; open it and take out the amount of gold thou mayst need, but take great care to avoid waste and extravagance ; and beware of going to its further extremity, for it is very terrible; all of this did my father tell me.' And he pulled out the key of the treasure and gave it into my hand ; and a few hours THE STORY OF JEWAD. I 13 later he died and was buried with all fitting pomp. " ' I freed all the male and female slaves who were in the house, and presented them with the carpets and vases that were therein, and dismissed them. As no one remained in the house but myself that night I took a candle in my hand and entered the treasury. I saw it to be an underground place, like an arsenal, a hundred and fifty cubits in length and twenty cubits in breadth, and on either side thereof were coins of gold and silver piled up like wheat and barley. I offered thanks to God and said in myself ' There is nothing frightful here, although my master warned me, let me go forward and see ; it ill becomes one to be afraid of things like these.' So I was constrained to penetrate to its depths, and went on without fear. Squeezing myself through a narrow door, I entered a portico in which were some strange forms, which, in truth, seemed very terrible; still, mustering courage, I went through among the forms and passed 114 THE STORY OF JEWAD. through a door at the other end into a hall, forty cubits long and forty cubits broad, all round which at intervals of one cubit were shelves covered with curiosities, wonders of the world, ' such as eye hath not seen nor ear heard.' Passing thence through a door, I entered another hall as large as the first, in the midst of which was a golden tank, ten cubits by ten, filled to overflowing with diamonds and rubies and emeralds and other jewels, the very smallest of which would be the envy of monarchs. There were fifty doors round the hall, and in the centre of it upon a throne on a dais were the statues of a man and woman who sup- ported a tablet between them — the right hand of the one being placed upon it, and the left hand of the other. I approached the statues and looked at the tablet, and there was inscribed thereon in a beautiful pendant hand :* ' Be it known unto thee, O thou who hast come hither to visit us, that I * The Ta'liq, or pendant, is a beautiful variety of hand-writing, much Used in fine manuscripts. THE STORY OF JEWAD. I 15 am Mellqa, who for a thousand years was sovereign of the Nation of the Jinn, and that this is my wife Laqiyur. For nine hundred years I lived with this my wife on such happy and joyous wise that, unable to bear the sundering of death, I gathered all my possessions into this place, and, having or- dered that we should both be buried be- neath this dais, poisoned myself Each of the doors which thou beholdest is that of a treasure-hoard ; and the understanding is unable to conceive the amount and extent of the riches here. But sages have reckoned thus : seeing that not more than a single man can pass through the second door at once, if the portals of this cavern were thrown open and permission accorded to all men to sack and plunder, it would require one hundred and twenty years to empty it' " 'After reading the tablet, I went forth the cavern. My first thought was to erect mosques and soup-kitchens and guest- houses and other pious and charitable build- Il6 THE STORY OF JEWAD. ings to the soul of Durr-Dana. In short, my opulence and splendour and alms and bounties and liberality grew so famous that they were heard of and seen by Your Glorious Majesty. There is no need for detail : a year passed thus, when the circum- stance of our magnificence was reported to 'Azadu-'d-Devlet, the present King of Basra, and they denounced me, saying, ' This man must indeed have found a hidden treasure, it were well were you to call him before you .and compel him to discover it' So he sent a chamberlain who brought me into his presence, when he said to me, with all bitterness, ' Look, 'Abdu-'Uah, denial is impossible for thee, thou hast assuredly found a hidden treasure ; declare where it is, else is there no escape for thee, for I will slay thee cruelly.' ' My master,' replied I, ' I have indeed found a hidden treasure ; but though you were to cut me into pieces, small even as my ear, it is impossible and inconceivable that I should disclose it. Still, I shall make a compact with you to send, so THE STORY OF JEWAD. II7 long as I live, a thousand sequins a day to the royal treasury ; if you consent not, and insist on being shown the cavern, your slave is prepared for death and all manner of tor- ture. There is no need of further speech.' The King pondered, and I made sure of ■death ; but he agreed, and gave into my hand a note in his own writing declaring that I should not be troubled or molested either by himself or any other. Ten years passed, without any negligence in my per- formance of the contract. " 'Although I was in affluence, Durr- Dana was never absent a single moment from my mind ; not only did I not marry, but though 1 had numberless fair slave-girls, the thought never occurred to me that there were women and allurements to love in my establishment. One night, between the two hours of worship, while I was sitting still, a woman, in an old veil and ragged dress, came into my house, and kissed my hand. I said to her, ' Daughter, what seekest thou?' She replied, 'My master, pray Il8 THE STORY OF JEWAD. come from the room, for I have somewhat to say to you.' When we had passed into a private apartment, she threw off her veil and cloak, and came and sat beside me. What did I see ? — she was a lovely beauty,, such as the painter, the imagination, were powerless to portray ; in a moment she overcame me, and drove the image of Durr- Dana from my mind. ' My master,' said she, ' I, your handmaid, am your neighbour here ; seeing you, my master, from time to time, I am become your devoted lover. Al- though you have a thousand damsels like to me, yet take compassion on me, and favour me with permission to come every four or five nights that I may behold the beauty of my master.' I was amazed, but took her by the hand and led her to a de- lightful room in the harem, and ordered fruits and wine to be brought ; and we be- gan to amuse ourselves. In the hilarity caused by the wine, I threw my arm round her neck to cull a kiss, when the damsel looked very sad, and her eyes filled with THE STORY OK JEWAD. I 19 tears. On beholding this the joyousness departed from me, and I said to her, ' Speak truly, what is the cause of this thy grief?' Then she fell to weeping aloud, and, clasp- ing my feet, kissed them, and said, ' My master, it is vain, thou art a man kind and honourable, I may not conceal my secret from thee — if thou pity my sad case, mercy is thine ; if thou pity not, command is thine ; but if thou pity not, woeful is my lot. I am Na'ila, the daughter of that shameless wretch, that infamous man, called Elqam, who is Vezir to the present King of Basra. I am now betrothed to a noble youth named Emir Hayder and we were to have been united, when that wretch, my so-called father, envious of your wealth and knowing that by reason of the letter the King had given you promising that none should molest you, it was impossible to acquire knowledge concerning your cavern by op- pressing you, conceived the following strata- gem. He summoned me to his private room and said, ' Thy beauty is unique in the 120 THE STORY OF JEWAD. world; go to Khoja 'Abdu-'llah in such and such a dress and act in such and such a manner, and even yield thyself to him, do whatever is needful, only see where is his' hidden treasure, and come and tell me ; and if thou succeed not in this undertaking, most surely will I slay thee.' And he sware to do so, and brought me himself as far as thy door. Therefore do I weep ; life is dear, yet the preservation of the veil of honour is more precious than the believer's blood. Mercy, my master, I am in thy power, what- soever thou mayest deem fit, grace is thine !' " ' When she said this my heart bled, and I replied, ' My daughter, henceforward art thou my child ; the protection of thy honour is my bounden duty, and thy defence is in- cumbent on my zeal. Fear not, be at ease. Willingly shall I show thee that hidden treasure ; but first I must blindfold thine eyes, and I shall take a sword in my hand and hold it abot«e thy head, and lead thee to the hoard, and show it all to thee ; but if, THE STORY OF JEWAD. 12 f before I unbind thine eyes, thou raise thy hand to free them, I will slay thee without mercy, without pity.' She agreed, and in that way I took her into the cavern and showed it to her, and I said, ' Permission is thine, take whatsoever thou pleasest of these jewels.' And she filled her bosom and her pocket. There was round the neck of the statue of the King's wife a string of a hundred pearls, each large as a partridge's egg and each worth a treasure-hoard in it- self; this I took from the neck of the statue and hung round that of the maiden. Again blindfolding her eyes as before, we returned to the house. I made her wrap herself in her cloak, and sent her with some trusty men to her father's abode. " ' The infamous Vezir, having failed to discover the treasure by this stratagem, sold one of his slaves in the market. Our officer who purchased slaves bought him and brought him to our establishment. After a time he was placed among those slaves who prepared the food ; he watched his oppor- 122 THE STORY OF JEWAD. tunity, and put some intoxicating drug upon a dish, of which I was very fond. When I rose after eating, a weakness came over my heart, and I fainted, exclaiming, ' I am dead.' They washed and shrouded me, and buried me in the mausoleum I had built. When it was evening that accursed one sent some disguised men, who conveyed me to another place. After they had tightly bound my hands and feet, they made me inhale some spirit, and brought back my senses. On waking I found myself in woeful case, the Vezir was standing opposite me with a whip in his hand, he addressed me thus, ' O wretch, I will teach thee to find a hidden treasure and then keep it all to thyself; come, where is the hoard?' I thought in myself how there was no escape from the fellow's hands, and severed the thread of hope, and returned no answer ; but made sure of death, and repeated the words of the Profession of Faith. The pitiless wretch, enraged at my making no reply, beat me until he was exhausted, and said, ' There, THE STORY OF JEWAD. 1 23 think well, I shall not get tired, twice every day and every night will I beat thee thus, thou knowest if thou canst endure it ; when thou tellest of the treasure thou shalt be freed;' and he left. " ' Two hours afterwards, while I was. groaning under the pain of my wounds, I heard some one open the door. I imagined that that wretch had returned, when there entered the Vezir's daughter Na'ila, and with her a beardless youth, her husband. Emir Hayder. They both came up and un- loosed my hands and feet, and, weeping for my sad plight, told me how the Vezir had got possession of me by means of his slave who dressed my food, how I had been buried, and how he had spread among the folk the report of my death, and then removed me from the tomb and brought me hither. But they had a horse ready waiting, upon which they mounted me, and, saying, ' Go, God be thy helper!' sent me off Thanking and praising God, I galloped on, and in the morning I dismounted at a certain place. 124 THE STORY OF JEWAD. and took a short rest, and then set forth again. I got my wounds dressed at the villages on the road ; and at length I arrived at the Abode of the Khalifate. To-day I came to the palace to witness the pageant of Our Puissant Sovereign. Behold, I have narrated all my story ; for the rest, com • mand and decree are of His Majesty.'" " The Khalif was deeply grieved at the mischances of 'Abdu-'Uah, and said to com- fort him, ' Well, now, if it please God (ex- alted be He!), thy fortune and prosperity are at hand. Brother, thy kindness and courtesy towards us are not things to be forgotten. Although I sorrow because of the woes that have befallen thee, still I am glad at having found a way to repay the favours thou hast shown me. First of all, I beg of thee that, no more slighting the boundless kindness of God for the sake of Durr-Dana who has rested thus long a time in the Abode of Permanency, thou abandon celibacy and monachism. There are in my imperial palace damsels a hundred times THE STORY OF JEWAD. 125 more beautiful than she ; I will show thee all, save only my own concubines, that thou mayest choose one from among them and be married to her, and pass a time here in pleasure. Then will I send thee with Ja'fer to Basra, and cause thy hidden treasure to be restored to thee.' " 'Abdu-'llah was constrained to obey the injunction of the Khalif, and the latter called one of the harem eunuchs and sent word to Her Majesty Zubeyda* to assem- ble all the slave-girls, save only his own concubines, in such and such a place. When the eunuch returned and informed him that they were ready, Harun took 'Abdu-'llah and they went to the harem. Some three thousand damsels covered with gold and jewels were modestly standing in ranks in a vast hall. Midmost the hall were placed two chairs, on one of which the Khalif sat, and on the other of which 'Abdu-'llah was permitted to seat himself All the damsels were ordered to pass one by one before * The chief wife of the Khahf. 126 THE STORY OF JEWAD. 'Abdu-'llah. While they were passing, dis- playing form and figure, and exhibiting ■dress and deportment, the glance of 'Abdu- 'llah alighted upon one amongst them, and forthwith he swooned and fell from his chair. Crying, ' What has happened ?' They flocked around him, and as soon as that ■damsel looked upon his face she too fainted and fell to the ground. They sprinkled water upon their faces, and when they had brought back their senses the Khalif said to 'Abdu-'llah, 'What is it?' Scarce able to articulate, he faltered, ' My Sovereign it is my Durr-Dana.' Khalif Reshid, fearing he should die for joy, got him carried out straightway, and when, by causing him to be bled and to take stimulants, he had re- stored calmness to his heart, Harun experi- enced a delight such as cannot be de- scribed. " Thinking that if they were allowed to meet at once they would both die, he deter- mined that for the first two or three times they should talk to one another and relate THE STORY OF JEWAD. 12/ their stories from behind a curtain ; so that their fervour might be somewhat cooled. So a curtain was hung up, and they brought Durr-Dana for 'Abdu-'llah to converse with, and placed her behind it. The Khalif per- ceiving that neither of them was able to commence the conversation, addressed Durr- Dana himself saying, ' I have heard 'Abdu- 'llah's adventures from himself this morning; but he said that they cast thee into the Nile ; how didst thou contrive to escape ?' ' My lord,' replied she, ' after throwing 'Abdu-'llah into the Nile, the executioners conversed among themselves, saying, " It were better we sold this poor creature to some foreign slave-dealer and got a few thousand sequins, than that we cast her into the water." And after much consultation, one of them took me and led me to a ruin, in which he hid me, and there he threatened me thus : " Be silent ; if thou utterest a word I will slay thee ;" and then he departed. He went to a slave-dealer and, making me out to be a run-away slave-girl, sold 128 THli STORV OF JEWAD. me for two thousand sequins. The dealer came and made me put on a suit of men's clothes, and that same day we set out with a caravan. As he was afraid, he did not sell me in these parts, but brought me to the Abode of the Khalifate, where it was my lot to be sold into your imperial circle.' " Then Abdu-'llah, gaining courage, be- gan to speak. After they had once or twice thus cooled the flame of their ardour by conversing from behind the curtain, they were married and attained all their de- sires. " One day, when they had remained for a month in the palace of the Khalif attended with all honour and respect, and in delight, Harun, after a few preliminary words, said to Abdu-'llah, ' It is my will to make thee King of Basra.' But 'Abdu-'llah clasped the feet of the Khalif and said, ' My mas- ter, if your imperial clemency see right to grant my humble request, you will appoint to that post the cause of my life, Emir Hayder, son-in-law of the accursed Elqam ; THE STORY OF JEWAD. 1 29 and that it may be remorse to his soul dur- ing the whole remainder of his life, you will confirm that wretch in his ofifice ; and you will kindly reinstate this your slave in his house as heretofore ; and by these means you will make him twofold more your slave than he is now.' "The Khalif granted the request of 'Abdu- 'llah ; and sent the Vezir Ja'fer with twenty thousand horsemen to seat Emir Hayder on the throne of Basra, and restore 'Abdu- llah safe and well to his house and cavern. After their arrival Durr-Dana and Abdu- 'llah passed the rest of their lives together in joy ; and their story remains in the mouths of men." ' See now,' said Libaba to Ferah-Naz, ' is there no constancy in men ?' But Ferah- Naz, criticising this story, said, ' Mother, lady, this which you have related cannot be considered constancy. What kindness or what love had 'Abdu-'llah experienced from Durr-Dana that he should bring himself to 130 THE STORY OF JEWAD. the point of death ? Sincere constancy is brought about by the acceptance of love ; looked at in this light, 'Abdu-'llah's passion was occasioned by mere fleshly desire, and was patent brutality. Even supposing it were sincere, according to the confession of your own mouth, when gay with wine he desired to kiss Na'ila, daughter of Elqam. Was not that opposed to constancy ? And again, when the Khalif proposed to give him a slave-girl, was not his acceptance op- posed to constancy ? If Durr-Dana had not appeared among the damsels, he would surely have accepted another and married her. Ah ! no, the constancy of men is not proved by this story ; I am still in the right' For all that Libaba strove to convince Ferah-Naz, it was in vain ; she ever con- founded her nurse with clever refutations and wise demonstrations. Let us leave them thus, endeavouring to persuade Ferah-Naz, and return to Jewad. THE STORY OF JEW AD. 13 I CONTINUATION OF THE STORY OF JEWAD. When Jewad set out from Aleppo, he saw city after city and town after town, and ac- quired information concerning the condition of many peoples. His road led him to the city of Cashmere. As Cashmere was then the most flourishing and prosperous of all the cities of the East, he determined to pass some time there, and hired a room and oc- cupied himself making acquaintance with the men of learning and culture in the town. All with whom he became acquainted and all with whom he conversed praised and ex- tolled Iklllu-'l-Mulk, the son of their King, Hurmuz Shah, to such an extent that Jewad conceived an affection for him without hav- ing seen him, and sought a pretext for meeting with him. The Prince, who was only seventeen or eighteen years old, but clever, upright, virtuous, and versed in the general and 132 THE STORY OF JEWAD. special sciences, always passed his time conversing with wise masters on sciences and arts. Having heard of the arrival of one of the wandering philosophers, a Bek- tashl called Jewad Baba, who was in all manner of knowledge unique in the age, the Prince felt on his part likewise a desire for mutual acquaintance. But as it would not have been courteous to summon at once so eminent a person into his presence, he deemed it best to disguise himself and go and visit him. So taking two men along with him, he went to the cell of Jewad. The latter, as nothing is hidden to the seer, omitted nought in doing him reverence, and said, ' O my Prince, you have done me honour, you have raised this your slave from the dust ; but there was no need for this trouble. Had you sent an order to your slave, he would have gone to your thres- hold.' After such expressions of politeness, they began to converse, and he bewildered Iklll by the extent of his knowledge. When they had talked for two hours, the Prince THE STORY OF JEWAD. 1 33 bade Jewad farewell, and requested him to come to the palace the following day. When the Prince entered the presence of , his father, he praised Jewad before him to such a degree that he bewildered him. And on the following day a horse royally capari- soned and many attendants were sent, and they brought Jewad with honour. After the observance of all ceremonies due to kings, he held- a scientific discussion with the Prince, fair of fortune, before the King and delighted him. When they had partaken of food, the King said to Jewad, ' Although by reason of your leading the life of a qalender, to be in a royal establishment may be con- trary to your taste, yet it were shame to us that a learned man like yourself should live in the corner of a khan ; so kindly let them show you a private room in the palace, and reside with us as our companion.' Jewad gratefully accepted the offer of the King, and took up his abode in the palace. He was never away from the Prince, they were always together enjoying themselves 134 THE STORY OF JEW AD. in pleasant talk and learned converse. Their love towards one another rose to such a degree that each acted as though he were the other's brother. One day when Hur- muz Shah was talking alone with Jewad, he said, ' Jewad Baba, I have a secret sorrow ; are you ware of it ?' ' No, my lord,' replied the other, ' pray let me hear.' Then the King said, ' You know how I have no child save your adopted brother Iklil ; and'that the de- sire of children and grandchildren is natural to fathers and mothers, and especially to kings. For three years I have wished him to marry, but he will not consent ; he has seen a vision and his opposition is based thereon ; and though I have striven, it has been in vain. I beg of your wisdom to un- dertake this matter, to prevail upon the Prince to consent to marry. Only see that he know not how I have spoken to you about it. Jewad replied, ' Most willingly,' and the discussion ended. Iklil carne to Jewad that night, and while they were occupied as of wont in convers- TPIE STORY OF JEWAD. 1 35 ing on the sciences, weaving the web of pleasant words on the frame of speech, the evening call to worship was chanted. Then said Jewad to Iklil jestingly, ' Well, during the day our profound discussions are all right ; but it will not do to sit on into the night' ' How not ?' asked the Prince. ' O my lord,' replied the other, 'the favourites of your harem will abuse your slave, say- ing, " A vagabond has arrived who with his talk keeps our lord from the harem." ' Iklil smiled and said, ' My lord, your friend is. not married.' Then Jewad appearing aston- ished, said, ' Since you know that it is not conformable to sense and reason for princes to remain single, why do you delay ?' With pain and diffidence IklTl began to speak on this wise, ' My lord, Jewad Baba, although I know that I have no power to reason with you, unique in wisdom, and am assured that with one word you can refute all I say, still, if you kindly respect the pro- verb, " Men speak according to the extent of their ability," I shall explain to you the 136 THE STORY OF JEWAD. cause of my celibacy. Now, I saw in a vision a beautiful garden, on the verge of which stood a fair woman, in the apparel of the daughters of kings, such that the harem, the imagination, could not contain the bride, her loveliness ; far less could she be de- scribed. Just then two deer, a buck and a doe, passed into the garden ; of a sudden the doe was caught in a trap, and the buck, after a thousand efforts, brake the snare with his teeth and set free his mate. Little time elapsed ere the foot of the buck was likewise entangled in a snare, and he fell to moaning and crying ; but the doe, heeding not his anguish, abandoned her consort in that plight, and fled away. Thereupon, I awoke from sleep, and I knew this to be a celestial warning to me from the Merciful that I should accept no wife, even though she wore the form of the beauty I had be- held. It is this vision which has made me averse to marriage.' Jewad smiled and replied, ' My lord, well known is the story of the sheykh who THE STORY OF JEWAD 1 37 preached many days to the folk on the virtue of Hberating purchased slaves, and, seeing that had no effect, bought a slave himself and set him free, and then saw how great an effect was produced thereby. See- ing that I, your slave, am myself a celibate, mayhap I ought not to advise my lord on this matter ; but I beg of you to give your attention carefully : It is known unto you, distinguished by nobility, that " in plurality oneness, and in oneness plurality " is an axiom agreed upon among the mystics. The reason of the rules of the chiefs of the qal- enders being that these poor ones who struggle along the Mystic Path should wear coarse and tattered garments of this sort and be ill-fed and marry not (but remain, like Jesus, mateless), is not merely that, having abandoned attachment to the world, they may walk lightly in the Path of Truth ; nay, there is a hidden cause therefor, within the veil. If you will deign to reflect, there are amonsr the Divine favours and eternal mysteries certain hidden arcana more 138 THE STORY OF JEWAD. adapted for comprehension in this world of intermediary void, acquaintance with which is a wondrous grace of the Merciful to the adepts. When the pilgrim reaches that land of knowledge, if he have adopted celibacy and the drapery of nakedness, it is impossi- ble that the bonds and affections of the lusts of humanity should obstruct the road of him, having staked his all. For example, if a qalender hunger, but a few halfpence are needful for him to repel the pangs of famine ; now, it is a thousand times better to blow the conch * and collect in the two-beaked alms-bowl enough of the gifts of Providence to appease the cravings of hunger than to trouble over furnace and bellows and cruci- ble and charcoal and mercury and calx and ^lacab and sulphur and tin and arsenic f — all for a handful of coppers ! If the poor one initiated into these attainable mysteries called by the names of the Powers of Magic, Occult Influence, Contraction and Expan- * Some dervishes make use of a kind of born. * t ;'. e., to labour at alchemv. THE STORY OK JEWAD. 139 sion, the Secret Virtues of Things, and the Divine Knowledge, be married and have a family, the cares of children and wife will render him incapable of bearing the hard- ships of the world, and it is clear that he must fall a pray to slovenliness and vanities, and so lose the resigned soul in the vale of abandonment. It is for this weighty reason that the qalenders who tread the path of poverty and wander through many lands are restrained from marrying and having families. Because I am a seeker after strange knowledge and a newly-started traveller on that path am I wifeless ; which by the rule of mutual similarity might be worthy of note as an example for a beggar : * yea, thus is it. But since celibacy and freedom from care of earthly things necessarily causes exemption from the pomp of the world, it is an evident matter that the op- posite thereof is the fitting condition for kings and kings' sons. That celibacy is an obvious error on the part of sovereigns * But not for a prince. I40 THE STORY OF' JEW AD. will appear a self-evident proposition, if you will deign to consider with the measure of sagacity. Philosophers have likened em- pire and sovereignty to a bath ; the men outside of which desire to enter it ; but when they enter, the warmth of the water afflicts them, and great weariness comes upon them by reason of the fierceness of the heat and of the arising of perspiration and lassitude, so that full speedily doth their desire to depart appear. That the most part of the possessors of exceeding riches * fancy the severing of the thread of connection with the rush and crush of men, and sit with the head hanging on the collar of the robe of retirement, and somehow choose the corner of privacy, is of the things proved by the legion of the learned. But this fancy is unlawful for kings ; for besides it being impossible for them to abandon the pomp of ■earth, the possession of their world-sway- ing minds by this idle notion is parallel to long-continued relaxation of the rein of the * /. e., spiritual riches. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 1 41 Steed, their royal zeal. Now, it is not hid- den from your imperial far-seeing sagacity that the only way of preserving the just constitution of sovereigns from that deadly poison of the well-being of states, the nur- ture of those fancies aforesaid, is that, bound by the tether of family and offspring and the solicitude for the circumstances of their successors and descendants, they should be devoted to the aim of rendering prosperous their possessions and realms. But putting those opinions aside, as you have explained that the only reason of your desire for celi- bacy is based on the inconstancy of women, grant that the charger, discourse, may cur- vet through that valley too. My lord, in what creature or being, in what thing per- ceived by the understanding or the senses, nay, in what in all creation, in the world, in the universe, in the dwellers therein, in the ages, in the days and nights, is there stabil- ity and endurance and unchangeableness and fidelity, that there should be firmness and constancy in that seat of human pas- 142 THE STORY OF JEWAD. sions called the heart? So you must see it becomes not you or me to talk of con- stancy ; but as the saw hath it, ' therein is a resemblance with a difference,' so we shall not say 'constancy,' but 'steadfastness in conduct.' Now it is manifest that there is more steadfastness in women than in men, and it is clear that their character is superior. Above all doth the fact that the submission and fidelity of the wife to the husband are greater than those of the husband to the wife require no commentary. A strange event, which proves all this, occurred re- cently in Persia ; deign to give ear, that I may recount it :' THE STORY TOLD BY JEW AD TO IKLILU-'L- MULK. " It is a strange story and a wondrous tale which will serve as an example to the ear of intelligence. Like as of old time the supremacy of the 'AbbasI Khalifs extended over other sovereigns, so was the rule of the THE STORY OF JEWAD. 143 Kings of Isfahan, who were also the mon- archs of India, China and Persia, acknowl- edged by all the potentates of these parts. A large body of the inhabitants of El-Bos- tan presented a petition to the divan of Shabur Shah, King of Isfahan, wherein they besought justice and redress against the oppressions of their King, Ghazanfer Shah, and announced and declared the ex- tent of his mercilessness — how every day he walked the markets and bazaars in differ- ent disguises, and paying no attention to Haji or Khoja, slew the guiltless and inno- cent ones engaged in their shops and work- places ; how, besides slaughtering most of the men, he broke into the houses of chaste and virtuous ladies ; and how through his hanging and killing and shedding the be- lievers' blood, the half of the inhabitants had perished and the rest fled on account of their terror — and they prayed for his dis- missal and the appointment of another, that the People of Muhammed might be saved. When he learned this, the King sent an or- 144 THE STORY OF JEWAD. der by a chamberlain to Ghazanfer Shah, in which was written : ' On the arrival of my imperial letter do thou come hither alone that thou mayest dispute with thine adver- saries : if thou disobey, thy kingdom shall surely be given to another, and thyself made an example to thy peers ?' " Ghazanfer sent back the messenger with the answer that he would start in a lit- tle while ; and three days later he set out alone for Isfahan, in compliance with the royal order. He journeyed on till he came to a spot three hours' distance irom Isfahan, where he dismounted at the brink of a fountain a little way off the road. There he thought in himself ' I am going, imagining that I shall be allowed to explain my cir- cumstances to the King ; but supposing he allow me not to speak, neither grant me leave to declare my hidden sorrow, — were it not a pity to cast myself of my own free will into the gulf of the royal displeasure ? Rather than do so, it were better to betake me to some place and hide there, and secrete THE STORY OF JEWAD. 145- myself in the corner of privacy. It is proba- ble I shall meet my family some day ; but life is dearer than all.' When his reflections had led to this conclusion, he saw a flock of sheep on, a hillock opposite, which were coming to water where he was. Determin- ing to go and ask the shepherd what places lay in the various directions, he mounted his horse and ascended the hillock. When he had approached the shepherd, what did he see? — no shepherd, but one of the youths of Paradise arrayed in shepherd's garb. As Ghazanfer had never before seen any of the sons of Adam so fair of form, he dismounted from his horse in his bewilderment, and saluted the shepherd, and stood gazing on his perfect beauty. The shepherd, on be- holding the bewilderment of Ghazanfer, asked him, ' Who are you, and what seek you here ?' He replied, ' I am a stranger who has met with a wonderful adventure, and I know not whither I am going ; but who are you, for it is clear as the noontide sun that that world-inflaming beauty is not "146 THE STORY OF JEWAD. the beauty of a shepherd ?' ' Sit down that we may converse a Httle,' said the other ; and they seated themselves in the shade of a tree. Then said the shepherd to Ghazan- fer, ' Until thou hast told me the truth con- cerning thine adventures, I will not tell thee ■who I am.' So Ghazanfer, concealing nothing, related how he was the King of El-Bostan, how he had come in consequence of being summoned, and how he had ■changed his intention on that spot and re- solved on flight. Then the shepherd said, " Ah ! beware, rely not on them, rush not of thine own accord into the abyss of death ; the present king is not the former king ; too late repentance profits not' After much ad- vice to Ghazanfer, the shepherd began the narration and thus explained the mys- tery : — TJ/£ STORY OF SHABUR AND HUM A. " ■ I am Huma, daughter of Gushtesp Khan the sovereign of Turan. I grew up THE STORY OF JEWAD. 147 amidst tenderness and pleasure till I reached my fifteenth year; when one night, having occasion to go out, I took a candle in my hand, and, without wakening the slave-girls, went forth. When I came back I left the door open. I had a favourite cat which, having got in, came in beside me, and play- ing about, put me off my sleep. I had placed my bracelets which I had taken off in the evening upon the mattress, and while I was watching the gambols of the cat, it seized one of them in its mouth and fled out of the room. Fearing it would drop it somewhere, I ran after it and tried to catch it, but it escaped and rushed down the stair into the cellar. When I reached the cellar-door in pursuit of it, I saw a light within the cellar ; thinking it was one of the slave-girls who had gone in there for some purpose, I fear- lessly descended the stair and went in. I beheld no cellar, but a room regally fur- nished, in the place of honour of which sat a lovely youth of seventeen or eighteen years of age. My senses fled away and I 148 THE STORY OF JEWAD. sought to return, but there was no door at the place where I had entered ; and I looked in bewilderment towards the youth. He too gazed at me in perfect confusion. When I asked him, 'Who are you, and what kind of place is this?' he replied, 'Who are you, and what kind of place is this?" and I was bereft of my senses. He, conceiving me to be a princess, said, ' My Life ! I am Shabur, son of Gudurz Shah, the King of Isfahan. Two minutes ago I opened the door of the ante-chamber of our own house, and was entering the harem, when I found myself here ; is not this your house ?' ' Yes,' I answered, ' it is our house ; but there is no subterranean room like this in our house. The truth is that the cat ran off with my bracelet, and I went into the cellar to catch it, when I be- held thee and this room ; but I carmot now find the door by which I entered.' He said, ' Oh ! thou didst not enter by a door; thou descendest through the ceiling. Come, dam- sel, sit down, what is all this ?' THE STORY OF JEWAD. I49 " 'After he had looked at me and I had looked at him for a time, the Prince, gather- ing courage, said, ' Since thou art neither jinn nor fairy ; but like myself hast met with some strange hap, come, rise, let us go out and see what manner of place this is.' So we both went out of the room together ; and we saw a lofty hall in the centre where- of was a curiously-wrought chandelier of crystal with about fifty lighted candles. There were some thirty or forty doors round the hall ; we pulled aside a little the curtain -which hung in front of one of these and peeped in — a beautiful youth and damsel were lying together on a couch. We looked into another, and saw just as in the former a lovely youth and damsel asleep. We ex- amined other rooms, and in each we found as before a pair of beauties. In the eleventh were seated a youth and lady conversing in a world of their own. We made bold and entered. When they saw us they smiled and said, ' Have you come at last ?' and, showing great delight, they arose and wel- 150 THE STORY OF JEWAD. corned us. The youth whom we found in the room then said with smiles, ' What things God wills / do not these suit each other beautifully? Banish your dismay, there is nought to fear.' They made us sit down, and that youth said joyously to our youth, ' My lord, your slave is Monla Idris, son of the Sultan Monla Yezld ; so I am your brother, being likewise a prince. And this my companion is the daughter of Sul- tan Imanu-'d-Din the Tubba' of Yemen, just as that pure one by your side is the child of some Sultan. We, both of us, in one day, in one moment, met with an ad- venture similar to that which has befallen you, and found ourselves here. You may ask how we know you to be the children of kings ; well, in each of these rooms is there a prince and a king's daughter. This vast place is the palace of a crafty sorceress; however, no treatment but kindness and at- tention is observed towards any of us by her; once a week she comes and jests and plays with us and counsels us to employ ourselves THE STORY OF JEWAD. 151 with pleasure and delight. She has ap- pointed special attendants to observe and gratify our every fancy, whatever it may be, in the manner we may wish; indeed, all those appliances of joy which, while under the shade of our fathers we could not ob- tain, are here lavished upon us without stint, agreeably to each one's due. Thus is it that henceforth we hope no more to see our parents ; for this unbeliever ever tells us that her object in bringing hither the sons and daughters of kings is that, the race of monarchs being cut off, anarchy and con- fusion may fill the world ; and she gives us friendly counsel, saying, ' There is no escape hence for you till the Resurrection, vex not your hearts with the thought thereof See, after this explanation nothing remains for you to fret about ; now go to your room, there is a clean bed in the press, spread it out, and occupy yourselves with pleasure^ with hearts at ease. In the morning you will meet with the other brethren, and all anxiety will disappear.' So saying, they 152 THE STORY OF JEWAD. sent us back to our room, where each of us in a separate corner, while musing and mar- velHng, was overcome by sleep. "'We woke when it was morning, and five or six beautiful slave-girls came in and brought us breakfast and coffee and tobacco, and waited on us. In a little while, couple by couple, entered some thirty princes and kings' daughters, and they assembled in our room. After performing the ceremony of greeting, they proceeded to comfort us, each telling of what king he or she had been the darling, and in what manner he or she ap- peared to have come there. Just then a slave-girl brought in a chair, and saying, 'The lady is coming,' placed it in the mid- dle of the room. I saw a corpulent woman of about sixty years of age come in, who said, ' Hail, my sons, my parrots.'* After she had treated them all with kindness and favour, she called for us, asking with great respect, ' Where are the Kings' children who arrived last night?' When she had flat- "" i. e,, My fair girls. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 1 53 tered and caressed us, she said to the others, ' Now, my darhngs, do you rise and go to your rooms, that I may marry these.' Hav- ing sent them all away, she smiled on us and said, ' See, now, you are husband and wife ; henceforward do you ever occupy yourselves with pleasure ; if either of you oppose the other, we shall quarrel.' Having said this she retired ; and when we were left alone, scarce knowing what I did, I ran and fell at the Prince's feet and cried, ' Mercy, my lord, for the sake of God and the Prophet have compassion upon me, and deface not the honour of me forlorn !' Weep- ing, the Prince replied, ' Be at peace ;_ I am not of the men you fear ; I knew from your conduct of last evening that you were virtu- ous and chaste. May the Most High Creator preserve us from committing acts forbidden. Amen ! No other occupations than adoration and entreaty of the All- Per- former and worship of the Deliverer befit thee and me in a strait like this. Now, let us unite our hearts, and, as much as in us 154 THE STORY OF JEWAD. lies, wait at the Door of the Divine Power, where answers are accorded. God Almighty is able to save us. But if we commit vile crimes like these shameless ones whom we have seen, no portion shall be ours in the world or the Hereafter but ruin and despair. If it please God (exalted be He) that we be delivered from this misfortune, we shall be wedded and married comformably to the Divine ordinance ; but if escape be impossi- ble and we die, our hope is that we may be united for ever in the bowers of Paradise.' " 'When he said this I was rejoiced as though the world were my own, and I wept with a loud voice and clasped the Prince's feet. We were delighted at the concord of our hearts and forgot our sorrows, and, having recited the Fatiha * over our agree- ment, occupied ourselves worshipping the Deliverer in sincerity. Thus we continued to act without giving the others any idea thereof; and we shut the doors of the room * The First Chapter of the Qur'an, recited over all compacts, and upon other occasions of importance. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 155 as though we were employed like them- selves, and all the while we were engaged in uninterrupted devotions, worshipping the Saver. When forty days had thus passed and the number of prayers had reached forty thousand, and we, having found an opportunity at noon, had recommenced the recitation, that vile sorceress fell of a sud- den a victim to the invincible sword of the All-Compeller, and her wicked soul was consigned to the fire of hell. And the slave- girls began to cry out, ' The old lady is dead !' Just then there was a great earth- quake and a frightful roar, and a black smoke filled the domes of the palace, and it grew so dark that we could not see one the other. For a quarter of an hour the smoke grew denser, when suddenly in a second it cleared away : when what did I see ? — I was in my own room in my father's palace in Turan. " ' When I saw my slave-girls I was amazed, and they screamed and ran to my father and mother, and told them of my re- 156 THE STORY OF JEWAD. appearance in my room. They both came and fell upon me, and, weeping much, asked about my absence and appearance. I told them the whole of my adventures, and be- sought my father to send a man to Isfahan to ascertain if the Prince had likewise been delivered. So my father despatched a special chamberlain to the King of Isfahan with some presents, and a note setting forth my strange experiences, and enquiring concern- ing the lot of the Prince. But that mine of ■constancy, the Prince Shabur, had also sent a man to my father to enquire about my fate ; and the two letter-bearers met half-way. When they had communicated one with the other, and discovered that the object of both parties was the same, they compared the letters and saw that the King of Is- fahan's note contained these words ad- ditional : ' in the time of their tribulation your daughter Huma promised to wed my Prince Shabur, conformably to the Divine ordinance ; if she remain faithful to her plight, I shall send men to fetch her hither THE STORY OF JEWAD. 1 57 to be married.' As this question required an answer, our messenger returned with the Isfahan officer. Whenever the request was made known to my father, he asked me, and, having seen my desire, sent off an en- voy with the answer that all were agreea- ble. " ' But let us not be prolix ; in a little while came the Vezir as the Prince's repre- sentative, and some of the women and eunuchs of the harem to keep us company, and more than ten thousand soldiers to guard us on the. way, and they took us off to Isfahan. I was married to Prince Shabur ; and so our desires were fulfilled on earth by the union we had imagined deferred till heaven. Two years afterwards my father- in-law, Gudurz Shah, was received into mercy ; and Shabur sat upon his throne. "'We lived for five years with perfect love and great devotion towards one an- other, so much so that we could not endure to be parted even for a single hour. Fifteen days ago I undressed the King in the even- IS8 THE STORY OF JEWAD. ing and laid him in his bed, and then went myself into a room near the bed-chamber to perform the evening worship. Having com- pleted it, I put on my night-clothes and re- turned to the King, when I beheld someone lying in his arms. ' Who is that ?' I cried ^ and the King and she who was in his em- brace turned round and looked in his face ; I too looked with attention, and saw the woman clasping the King ; and the King and I, and she who resembled me, we all three of us, stared amazed and bewildered, one at the other. Then the King addressed me, saying, ' Who art thou that comest thus untimely in the form of my wife and fright- enest us ?' My senses fled from me and I began to weep, and said, ' My lord, thy wife Huma ; what is that phantom by thy side ? for the love of God look attentively at me !' Then the other said, ' That wretch who has appeared will drive us mad ; call the slave- girls on guard that they may turn her away;' and again she clung to the neck of the King and wept. The King clapped his hands, and THE STORY OF JEWAD. 159 the slave-girls on guard entered, and they marvelled at seeing me doubled, and at hearing the dispute between us. The King, who was intelligent, remembered that I had a mole upon my body ; he looked at the same part of the person of the phantom by his side, and saw the mole was there ; then he told me to open my dress, and as I knew that his object was to see that mole, I opened it. When he saw the mole upon me likewise, he was confounded and called for my nurse. On coming in, the poor old woman began to cry aloud at seeing Huma in two cages ;* but the King called out to her, ' Cease thy weeping, and take her who is standing there aside, and ask her con- cerning the events of her childhood, by that means thou mayest discover which is the true.' So my nurse took me apart, and put to me certain questions about some things that had happened in my childhood, all of which I truthfully answered. When she had * There is a play here upon the word Huma, which is the name of a fabulous bird; the two cages being the two bodies, — the Queen and the phantom. l6o THE STORY OF JEWAD. likewise questioned the other in private, and received full and correct answers, my nurse cried out, ' My lord, each of those is without doubt Huma.' The King was sore dis- tressed ; and when he had himself asked me about certain private things which had hap- pened between us, and interrogated the other, he saw that there was not a hair's difference betwixt her and me. He took council, and said to my nurse, ' One of these must necessarily be a phantom, and is to us some sort of delusion ; and what seems self-evident is this, that the one which came afterwards, while I was with my wife, is the false one ; send it away, but use no violence; begone !' and he motioned me away. Al- though I implored it was of no avail, and my own nurse took me by the hand and thrust me without the gate, and crying, ' Be- gone, vile wretch !' drove me forth. Know- ing not where to go, weeping I wandered on in the middle of the night through the wards of the city, till I passed beyond its bounds. The Lord Most High protected THE STORY OF JEWAD. l6l me from interference of evil men ; and with- out the city I met a shepherd ninety years of age, who was tending his sheep. I went up to him, but he was so old that he could not discern that I was a woman. He treated me with kindness, and I went with him to his fold, and took refuge with him ; and for fifteen days have I been in that old man's service." " Ghazanfer marvelled at the adventures of Huma, and she wept in silence thinking of her lot. After much reflection Ghazan- fer addressed her thus, ' From this story of thine it is evident that thou wilt never be able to make thyself known hereafter ; come then with me and be my companion and let us off to another land.' Huma smiled sadly and said, ' Brother is the object of flight escape from the condition of a shepherd ? Know this for certain, that I would not ex- change this condition of shepherd in which I can see from afar the city where dwells my King for the empire of the world ; this 1 62 THE STORY OF JEW AD. is a trial to me from the Merciful, and it is known unto the wise that patience is the only resource in trial.' " Whilst they were thus talking, a man mounted on a chestnut horse appeared com- ing at full speed from the direction of the fountain ; he rushed up the hillock and passed by them like the blinding lightning. He was a young man, seemingly of twenty- two or twenty-three years, elegantly- dressed, and his horse was richly capari- soned. When Huma beheld his face she exclaimed, ' Lo, it is King Shabur !' Just then appeared another man upon a grey horse, with a sword in his hand advancing with furious speed and excitement ; when he passed they saw him to be identical with the former, in appearance he too was King Shabur. Huma cried out, ' Mercy ! what form is that ? they are both my lord !' Ghazanfer, virho was a bold and valiant man, unable to brook this, straightway mounted his steed and pursued them at full speed. He overtook the Sultan with the sword, THE STORY OF JEWAD. 1 63 who, on seeing him, cried, ' O brother, seize yon wretch !' and besought his aid. As Ghazanfer's horse was in good condition, he came up with the fellow, and, without allow- ing him to speak, struck him on the head with his mace and hurled him to the ground. The King too came up and waved his sword over him, when the fellow exclaimed, ' Mercy ! hold, kill me not, that I may tell thee who I am.' And he drew from his finger a ring, like the ring of the door of the Ka'ba,* and thereupon he became a white- bearded old man of sixty. He fell to beg- ging forgiveness and crying, ' Mercy ! my King, pardon my crime ;' and Shabur Shah and Ghazanfer were amazed, and on their questioning him, he thus explained : " ' The woman now in your palace, whom you think to be your wife, was in the time of her youth a harlot. She had very many gallants, of whom I was one ; but as she loved me beyond the rest, she one day said to me, " Thou knowest that I have a thou- * The Sacred Temple at Mekka. 1 64 THE STORY OF JEWAD. sand lovers, none of whom I may renounce, but thou art dearer to me than all ; if thou desire it, marry me that thou mayest freely enter and leave my house, but thou must agree to molest none of the gallants." I consented to this arrangement and married her. For a long time we lived in the shade of the gallants, but the woman grew old and her trade left her, and no one would look at her ; and we became anxious for the necessities of life. One day the woman said to me, " Husband, we have no remedy left us save this : there is in a certain city a skilful sorceress whom I have known for long. If we enter her service I think it will be the means of obtaining our livelihood with ease." I agreed to this proposal, and we went to the city where the sorceress lived. When she saw us she was greatly delighted, and she entertained us with kind- ness for a month. At the end of that time she said, " Since you have come seeking me, I shall make you a gift such that you may be free from penury for ever." She THE STORY OF JEWAD. 165 then performed a disgusting magic cere- mony by which she produced two silver rings, one of which she gave to me and the other to the woman. And she said, " Lo, take these, and when you desire to be changed into the form of any of the great or rich, put 'your ring upon your finger, and that moment you shall assume the appearance and become acquainted with the position, ideas, and knowledge of him whom you select, — that is, you shall become his double; prosper in your undertakings." And she sent us away. We, husband and wife, consulted and agreed that it were bet- ter to assume the forms of a king and queen, and pass the rest of our lives in sovereignty, than to choose those of any meaner persons. So fifteen days ago the woman came to your couch in the form of Huma and deceived you, and made you drive away your real wife. To-day I, too, took your form, but have failed to succeed. Thus is it. If you will have pity because my crime is by reason of the greatness of my poverty, compassion l66 THE STORY OF JEWAD. is yours ; if you pity not but slay, I am in your hands.' " Shabur Shah said to Ghazanfer, ' What sayest thou ? look at the crime of this wretch, and look at his request for pardon.' ' My lord,' replied he, ' I have good news for you, as a thank-offering perchance you may incline to forgiveness.' And he told him how Huma, in the dress of a shepherd, was waiting under the tree. ' Well,' said King Shabur, ' take the fellow and come ;' and he took the ring himself and went to the place where Huma was. When the latter saw the King she fell down before him and they wept much together, and Shabur Shah thus related, ' To-day I desired to go out in disguise, and, having put on other clothes, went out by the palace gate, when I recol- lected that I had forgotten something which I had to say to Huma. As it was a private matter, I could not send a message by any one, so I turned back and entered the harem, when I saw a fellow exactly like myself sitting with Huma. I straightway THE STORY OF JEWAD. 1 67 drew my sword, and he fled and mounted upon my horse that was harnessed, and took to flight; I leapt upon another horse and pursued him to this spot; lo, the rest has been seen of yourselves.' " Ghazanfer brought the horse which the fellow had ridden, and covering Huma with a shawl, seated her upon it. He and the King mounted also, and, having made fast the man's hands, leading him after them, they proceeded quietly to the city. The King, attending not to Humas alighting, hastened to the harem, and came up to the side of the wretch who wore the Queen's form. She, imagining him to be her own husband, said, ' Hast thou won to kill him?' ' Out on thee, vile unbeliever, take the ring from off thy finger,' cried the King. The woman, perceiving that the secret was dis- covered, and that he who had arrived was not her husband, but Shabur Shah, unable to find any escape, pulled off the ring which was on her finger, and she became a vile and hideous old hag. The King took the l68 THE STORY OF JEWAD. ring from her hand also, and, crying, ' Take this wretch and shut her up somewhere,' went out. They brought Huma into the harem in her shepherd's dress, and, after she had resumed her proper attire, her nurse and all the slave-girls came and kissed the ground at her feet. " Next day the grandees of the empire were assembled, and the old man and woman were summoned, and along with them the witness of all that had happened, Ghazanfer, who was as yet unknown to the King and court. When the King had re- lated the events, all were silent ; and, out of gratitude for re-union with Huma, he re- frained from the shedding of blood, and or- dered his Vezir to banish the sorcerers to a distant city. "After that he called Ghazanfer to his side and said, ' Brother, thou art the cause of my life. Art thou Khizr?* who art thou ?' ' My master,' replied he, ' I am your slave. * A mysterious personage who comes to the aid of Muslims in distress. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 169 Ghazanfer, King of El-Bostan, whom you did summon to a dispute.' Then the King manifested great deHght and said, ' Thine aiding us in our time of need is a sufficient proof of the goodness of thy nature, and that the rumours concerning thee are calum- nies.' 'Nay, my sovereign,' answered Ghaz- anfer, ' your slave would not that the people should say concerning my lord the King, " Ghazanfer, having done somewhat at the Capital, has been acquitted ; the King heeds not the rights of his poor subjects." In very deed their complaint was not a lie or a calumny. I am constrained to speak the truth in your imperial presence ; but there are some of those grandees standing before you for whom it is unlawful to hear my poor story.' 'If thou desire,' said Shabur Shah, ' they all shall leave, and when the room is emptied thou mayest re- late.' ' No, my sovereign,' replied Ghazan- fer, ' it is very necessary that the others hear.' The King asked which of them he wished sent away, so he pointed out six of \-]0 THE STORY OF JEWAD. the vezirs and ministers. As among them was one, a favourite of the King, the latter thought in himself, ' Surely he imagines that these have received bribes from the people that he wants them dismissed.' So he asked Ghazanfer, ' Dost thou know who the per- sons are whom thou hast made to be turned out of the room ?' And he answered, ' No, my sovereign, never in the course of our lives have I seen them or have they seen me ; and now I know not even their names or their offices ; but when I have finished my adventures, the reason of their dismissal will be known to your Majesty.' And he thus began to disclose his secrets and relate his wondrous story : THE STORY OF GHAZANFER AXD RAHILA. " ' I am the son of a wealthy merchant of Shiras, Zeynu-'d-Dln by name, and am descended through my father from the THE STORY OF JEWAD. I/r Imam Ja'fer Sadiq.* In my childhood I went for instruction to a school, at which at- tended a damsel named Rahila, six or seven years old, the daughter of a person named Qadi Huseyn, one of the descendants of 'Air through El-Hanefiyya.f We learned the alphabet at the desk of the same usher, and grew fond of each other after the way of children ; and on holidays I would some- times go to their house, and she would sometimes come to ours to play. As we grew older our attachment to one another increased till human passion pointed us to "figurative love, the bridge to Truth ;"% and we pledged each the other to become hus- band and wife. When Rahila reached her tenth year she left the school, and they hid her sweet beauty from me. Two years after this separation, my parents, having learned of the tie between Rahila and myself, asked * The sixth of the Imams, descendants of 'All, revered by the- Shl'asect. t The second wife of 'All. \ The affection of lovers or of husband and wife has been called " figurative love," as held to shadow iorthlove for God, which is Truth. 1/2 THE STORY OF JEWAD. her in marriage for me from her father. He made no objection, so we were married ac- cording to the Divine ordinance ; and for fourteen years with perfect love we acted towards one another as husband and wife, without fauk on either side. " ' One Sacrificial- Feast-day, having per- formed the festival worship, I went straight to my house ; but Rahila had fallen asleep, waiting for me. Seeing her asleep, I thought to frighten her by way of jest, and threw myself upon her, when the dagger which was in my sash fell from its sheath, and penetrated to her vitals and came out at her back, nailing her to the board. As I saw that Rahila did not awake, I rose from her and I beheld the dagger which was in my sash plunged up to the hilt in the body of my beloved, and I fell down in a swoon. " ' In the course of an hour my senses re- turned and I thought in myself "What has happened ?■ I have slain my darling, my soul cannot endure to look no more upon the beauty of Rahila," and without telling THE STORY OF JEWAD. 1 73 any one in the house, I went out. While I was going along I saw an old man standing at a door, who, on perceiving me, cried out, " My son, my master, come in ; and he took me by the hand and led me into his house and shut the door. He gave me a chair and treated me with kindness and courtesy, and said, " Son, thy passing is a mercy ; my child 'Abdu-'l- Malik has gone somewhere, apparently one of our brethren has got hold of him to assist him ; but there is no differ- ence between thee and him ; kill these sheep according to our rites ; see, there are the four sheep, this big one is 'All, the son of Abu-Talib, this one is Fatima, this is Hasan, and this Huseyn."* And over each of them he repeated opprobrious expressions — God (exalted be He / ) guard us ! — the very hearing of which were a sufficient cause for the wrath of the Creator and reason for the ire of the Almighty. On my perceiving that he was a despiser of the House of the * Fatima is tlie daughter of the Prophet and wife of 'AIT, Hasan and Huseyn are their sons, all are sacred with the Shi'a sect which prevails in Persia. 1/4 THE STORY OF JEWAD. Apostolate, the vein of Hashimi* zeal throbbed in my heart and I cried, " Where is the knife ?" " Here, my son," he replied, " I sharpened it with my own hand," and he handed me a large knife. I seized it, and crying " God is most great /" struck with all my might at the neck of the old man, so that he knew not in what manner his vile soul was consigned to the flames of hell. " ' The horse of the slain heretic was ready saddled, so I mounted it and went forth the city, and fled to the mountains and wilds. After wandering for two months I happened upon El-Bostan, where, hiring a room in one of the caravanserays, I dwelt for five months with my griefs and woes. One of the inmates of the khan who used sometimes to come to my room and keep me company, imagining that my ceaseless melancholy arose from my lack of worldly goods, addressed me thus, " Brother, God is gracious, this much dejection is not law- " Hashim is the great-grandfather of the Prophet, whose descen- dant Ghazanfer was through Fatima. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 175 ful, God is gracious ; I have a fellow-towns- man at the royal court, to whom I spoke of thee, and he told me to bring thee to him for that he would find thee a fitting office. If it be thy desire, come, let us go." " Very -well," said I, "we shall see what will be the favour of God in this matter ;" and we went together to the palace. " ' Now he whom that man had spoken of as his fellow-townsman was the King's sher- bet-server; and I advanced and kissed his skirt, and he asked my name and country. I answered all, and he, perceiving my intel- ligence from my manner and replies, re- quested the officer of the palace who held the position of sword-bearer to appoint me assistant to the sherbet-server ; and so he got me entered on the roll of the King's servants. As I held up the curtain while sherbet and coffee were being served, I was constantly in the presence of the King. The King, who was a fair prince called Riza Qull Khan, was pleased with my manners and appearance, and from time to time he ad- 176 THE STORY OF JEWAD. dressed me with kindness, and he honoured me and favoured me till I became of those who approached near unto him. I loved the King, and his goodness made me forget my sorrow ; I was of his favourite attendants, and I rose step by step till I became page of the key.* " ' One day, six years after my entrance into the King's establishment, I went out into the garden alone, and having performed the afternoon-worship, I sat down in the shade of a tree and thought of Rahila and wept till slumber overcame me, and I slept. It was evening, near the time for retiring ; now the harem of the King had received permission to go into the garden to see some fireworks, and the place had been cleared of men ; but as it was near night some of the ladies had gone in, when I heard a sound as of running while I yet slept, and I awoke. What did I behold ? — it was night, and a lovely damsel stood be- fore me in the moonlight gazing into my * An officer of trust in the houses of great men. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 1 77 face. When I looked at her I saw her to be a woman differing not one hair's tip from Rahila. Seeing me greatly bewildered, she asked, " Who art thou ?" I told her that I was page of the key, and that while I was walking about the garden sleep had over- come me ; and I asked her who she was. She told me that she was 'Ayn-i Wefa, one of the favourites of the king; then I im- plored her to let me escape ere any of the other damsels should see me. " Well done, master, and then thou wilt go and say that thou hast seen me ; that shall not be." And she came and sat down beside me and cried out, " Come damsels, see what God has given me ;" and about a hundred damsels, her mates, flocked round her, and she showed me to them all. Then she led me to a room ; unable to resist, I acquiesced, for by reason of the greatness of her resem- blance to Rahila I was infatuated by her, and no apprehension came into my mind. We amused ourselves with, music and other diversions till morning, when she sent me 1/8 THE STORV OF JEWAD. out, begging me to be in the same spot again on a certain night. When I left I went to my own room, and, recalUng the image of Rahila, I would now tear my col- lar through grief at the thought that it was treachery towards her I was practising, and now be overcome of the beauty of 'Ayn-i Wefa — through my love and afifection for Rahila. " ' However, when the promised night ar- rived, I went with the greatest eagerness to the appointed place. One of the damsels was waiting for me : she took me and brought me to the same room as before. When 'Ayn-i Wefa saw me she ran to wel- come me, and led me in and seated me in the place of honour ; and we diverted our- selves with music and all sorts of amuse- ments. Now, it was six years since this 'Ayn-i Wefa had been procured, and the King, pleased with her beauty, had entered her among his wives and sought to marry her. But she had shown no likinsf for the King, and he, out of the greatness of his THE STORY OF JEWAD. 1 79 love, had deemed it unbecoming to use any manner of force ; and, thinking that she would become reconciled by kindness, had ordered all the damsels nowise to oppose her in anything she should wish. But the ignoring and tolerating of conduct such as this being altogether impossible, one of the harem eunuchs who had observed us on the first occasion told it to the King. The lat- ter, not having believed his mere word, was waiting for some way of making sure when the same eunuch informed him that the page of the key was again in the harem. As for us, we were playing and laughing and crying out when the King entered the room shouting, ' O cursed wretch !' 'Ayn-i Wefa sprang forward and seized the King's hand with extreme delight, and said, ' Hold, my King, no manner of anger ever be- comes kings until they are aware of the true condition of its object ; now, rest a little, sit down and learn about us ; afterwards no one may oppose our lord's ire, should he still re- tain it.' And she made the King sit down l8o THE STORY OF JEWAD. and kissed his feet and said, ' My King-, this is not a man to do any wrong. Your hand- maid intended that they should, go and tell our lord, and that he should discover us thus engaged, that so she might find a way to unfold her wish. Be gracious, and drive away the urgings of anger; be tranquil, and listen for a little while to the adventures of your handmaid.' When she had thus cooled the wrath of the King, he said to her, ' Speak and we shall see ;' and I was stand- ing aside, trembling with shame and terror. " ' 'Ayn-i Wefa thus commenced, ' My lord, my original name is Rahila, and I am at this moment the wedded wife of yon Ghazanfen' When I heard her say ^his, the bird, my soul, well-nigh escaped from the cage, my body ; for I swooned and fell senseless on the ground. ' What is this !' cried the King, ' here there must be some strange mystery;' and he himself arose, and sprinkling water on my face, revived me. However it may be, the moment I recov- ered, unrestrained and undaunted by the THE STORY OF JEWAD. l8l presence of the King, I threw my arms round Rahila's neck, and again fainted. The King, out of the greatness of his kindness, comforted me, saying, ' Gently, son, we will arrange the matter;' and he made Rahila and myself sit down. As he enquired about the circumstances from the beginning, Ra- hila told him our story from its commence- ment; and thus did she detail what hap- pened after she had been killed : " ' When the bird, my soul, flew from the cage, my body, I found myself in a ;won- drous place, the description whereof were impossible. Ere a moment had elapsed an •unseen voice called to me, ' Daughter some one seeketh thee without ;' and straightway I moved from my place to go forth. I raised my eyes, and there was standing before me a glorious personage, just of stature and most sweet of face, and I saw that in his hand was a blood-stained dagger. No fear came upon me from his presence, and I asked, 'Who are you, and what seek you here ?' He answered, ' Fear not, my daugh- 1 82 THE STORY OF JEWAD. ter, I am 'All, the son of the uncle of the Prophet, the consort of the Virgin.* Thy husband, Ghazanfer, thought to sport with thee, when his dagger (which is this dag- ger) fell from its sheath, and he slew thee unwittingly. He fled, and while on the way an infidel, of the enemies of our family, thinking him to be of his own people, took him into his house to perform a wicked deed. When Ghazanfer had made sure that the infidel was of our enemies, crying, " God is most great /" he slew him. By the permission of God, the Mighty, the sound of his shout reached my ears, and I am sent to restore thee to life.' When he had said this, I kissed the dust at his feet and asked, ' In what plight is Ghazanfer now ?' He answered, ' Rise and put on this suit of men's clothes and go forth and thou shalt find him. And when thou hast found him salute him from me and say that in these days one of the vile marks and signs of which the enemies of the Apostolic House * Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 183: make use, in order to recognise each other, is a counterfeit mole. There is on the neck of Ghazanfer a mole of the creation of God, and that slaughtered infidel by reason of his age could not distinguish that it was not counterfeit, so, imagining him to be of his own people, he revealed to him his secret. Tell thou him that henceforward he is com- missioned from God to slay all those upon whom he may see that mole.' " ' When he had said this he vanished from beside me. My King, Glory to God f ever from the time that the Blessed 'All said to me, ' Fear not,' has all dismay passed from my heart; so I dreaded not you, and the reason of my not seeking my enfranchise- ment by the relation of my adventures was my being without fear. Conformably to the command, I put on the men's clothes and went forth. Somehow, from my manners and movements they knew me for a woman in the city of the Moguls ; and the officer, taking me to be a run-away slave-girl, ar- rested me and sent me to my King.' 1 84 THE STORY OF JEWAD. " When she had finished speaking, the King arose from his seat and said, ' And have those eyes seen our Lord 'Ali ?' And he kissed Rahila between the eyes and my- self upon the forehead. And he said to me, ' Sit here and condole with Rahila ;' and to the slave-girls, ' These are your master and mistress, — serve ye them ;' and he left and went to his own apartments. I leave the estimating of the happiness and value of that night to the heart that has yearned. When it was morning the King returned to the room where we were, and said to me with great respect, 'Come, my life, my son;' and he took me by the hand and led me to the court of the divan. The grandees of the empire were present at the divan, and he addressed them thus : 'Of my own free choice and will I have resigned to this my son Ghazanfer the crown and throne which I inherited from my ancestors.' And he motioned me to sit upon the throne. I re- sisted not, but sat upon it. The King was the first to swear allegiance to me, and he THE STORY OF JEWAD. 18$ whispered in my ear, ' My son, show no negHgence in the matter of the holy- war- fare to which thou hast been called ;' and he then retired to his private abode. Since that day I have been King of El-Bostan; and, having myself sought out all the cruel wretches in those parts, have severed their accursed veins, and cleansed that land of them. Lo, my King, that is the reason of my shedding of blood. And it is because that mark is upon them that I turned these villains from your presence.' " The hearts of all present melted within them, and King Shabur ordered the imme- diate execution of the men who had been turned out, and then kissed Ghazanfer on the forehead, and thus commanded him, ' Search likewise Isfahan, and slay all those upon whom thou seest the mark of sin, and when thou hast cleansed these parts from the filth of the Yezlds,* go back to the govern- * Yezid was son of Mu'aviyya, and second Khalif of the House of 'Umeyya. He brought about the murder of Hasan and Huseyn, the sons of 'All, and is never mentioned by the ShT'a sect without ex- ecration. His name is here used as a term of abuse. 1 86 THE STORY OF JEWAD ment of El-Bostan.' He willingly consented to slay the Yezids who were in the imperial city, but as he begged that El-Bostan should be again conferred on Riza Quli Khan, and that he himself should be al- lowed to rest with Rahila in the shade of the King, El-Bostan was given as before to Riza QulI, and, having completed the holy- warfare by the total annihilation of the hypocrites in Isfahan, Ghazanfer brought thither Rahila with every honour ; and they remained in the capital for the rest of their lives." When Jewad had finished this story, by the moral of which he hoped to induce Iklllu-'l-Mulk to marry, the latter said doubt- fully, ' It is good, my master, but how can it be known that a lady of honour and con- stancy such as Rahila is to be found?' Jewad replied, ' My Prince, in very truth your objection is worthy of attention ; the universe is comprehended of the knowledge of the Divine Majesty ; but not a creature THE STORY OF JEWAD. 187 knows in what condition the fickle human heart may next moment be ; in sooth, no person knows his own self, how then could he be known of another ? It cannot be right for any one to exceed in this matter and pledge himself for the conduct of another, that I should urge my lord, pointing out and describing a certain damsel and saying, 'there is of the chaste beauties of such and such a place a lady of constancy of such and such a character.' But the Divine Knowl- edge cannot be gainsaid. If it please God (exalted be He /) we shall go to-morrow for a stroll to a quiet spot without the city ; and if I can convince you, you will yield.' Hav- ing said this, they left talking, and the Prince retired and Jewad lay down in a world of his own. When it was morning the Prince mounted with two of his confidential pages, and, hav- ing placed Jewad upon a royal horse, they went forth of the city to an oratory called ' the Pilgrims' Seat' They sat down in the shade of a tent which was erected, and. 1 88 THE STORY OF JEWAD. after partaking of coffee, Jewad dismissed the pages, telling them to return to the city and come back in an hour. When they were left alone he said, ' My Prince, the reason of my causing thee to perform this act of power (and thus disclosing a mystery) is to convince thee ; but thou must promise me never again to do the deed I am about to teach thee.' Having made Iklil swear many oaths, he drew forth a piece of paper, a reed-pen, and an inkhorn, and gave them to the Prince ; he then showed him how to construct a five-square charm vacant in the centre. Thus, according to the rule of the aerial figure, he made Iklil commence at the beginning with the number i8, and com- plete the igneous houses by the addition of 4 to the number in each, and then subtract 51 from the total. Next he caused him to write in the middle house the name of the Spiritual Minister resulting from this calcu- lation, cut off the edges of the paper, and lay down the charm ; then he instructed him to repeat the Spiritual Name as many THE STORY OF JEWAD. 189 times as the total of the numbers on one side. When the repetitions of the Spiritual Name had reached the number of the total amount of the figures on one side of the charm, the paper rose from the ground and began to fly in the air as it were a bird, at about the height of a man. Jewad and Iklil ran after it, but they had gone scarce forty or fifty steps when the charm fell to the ground. On reaching it they found it burned and reduced to ashes, whereat Iklll marvelled. Jewad, who had brought with him the paper, reed, and ink, again handed them to Iklll, and made him draw from left to right a figure of steps, then three ovals, then four upright staves, then four horizon- tal staves, then one Solomon's seal. When it was finished, they placed this paper upon the former burnt charm, and returned to the tent. Then Jewad rhade Iklll trace the same figures on another paper and present it all round the tent and call upon the Spiri- tual Minister's name. The moment the number of repetitions was completed, a 190 THE STORY OF JEWAD. dreadful crash, like the firing of a mine, was heard, and the ground where lay the charm v/as blown up, and the earth opened sheer like a cliff. They both went forward and saw an open door through which they entered into an immense cavern filled with silver and gold and jewels and precious things. After carefully examining it all round, they went back to the tent, where I kill was made to trace the same fignres again, but from right to left ; and they sat down. He was told to recommence the repetition of the Name, and when the num- ber was complete there was a terrific roar like the first, and the place where lay the buried treasure became smooth as before, so that it was irrecognisable ; and Iklll mar- velled exceedingly at these events. A little later the pages and the animals came back ; and they mounted and returned to the im- perial palace. When it was evening and they were left alone, Jewad earnestly addressed Iklll, say- ing, ' My Prince, you have this day seen THE STORY OF JEWAD. 191 and ascertained that if it please God (ex- alted be He / ) it is possible to become through science initiated into the unseen mysteries of Providence ; and that while there are in certain secret places buried treasures whereof none knoweth save the Eternal, it is still conceivable that a knowl- edge of them may pass to human wisdom through the medium of the Divine Science. Now you will not doubt that it is possible also to discover through this science whether there exist a maiden, chaste, refined, and constant, such as we desire. And he pro- duced the paper, the reed, and the ink-horn, and handed them to Iklll and said, ' My lord, say in all sincerity of heart, " Doth there exist a lady, modest, honourable, such as is desired ? and, if so, where ?" and then repeat the Noble Verse, ' And with Him are the keys of the unseen,'* and then breathe upon the reed and draw * Qur'an, vi., 59. 192 THE STORY OF JEWAD. four sets of points.'* After he had made the points, according to the instructions of Jewad, he was shown the way of arranging them ; and, when they were arranged, they saw that the first figure gave Acquisitio ; the second, Letitia ; the third, Cauda ; and the fourth, Populus. On seeing this, Jewad said, ' My Prince, good tidings to thee ; Ac- quisitio being in the first house signifies that the desired exists.' When he had made him produce the other houses according to the rule, he said, - ' Join the second house with the tenth, and the third with the fourteenth, and then join the two figures resulting therefrom, and so produce yet another.' He did so, and the figure Puella appeared. Seeing that Puella w9.s located in the fifth house, Jewad judged thus : ' The First Clime is Africa ; the Second, America ; the Third, Europe ; the Fourth, Persia and Tartary ; the Fifth, Cathay and China ; this indicates that the desired is in China ; but in which city?' He made Iklll work the * The following ceremony is geomantic THE STORY OF JEWAD. 193 rule for the bearings, and discovered that the city was Pekin, the capital of the Em- pire. He then began to work by another science, and showed Iklll the system of the Circular Table of the Universe, and thus explained it to him : 'My master, Iklil, the best branch of the Science of Onomancy is the beautiful Science of the Circular Table ; this again consists of two kinds, one of which is called 'determinative,' and the other ' false positive ;' the latter is the sim- pler, and you will easily grasp it. First, write down in any language you please, as if you were asking me, in what ward is the damsel we seek (we know her to be in Pekin), and what relation is she to whom, and what 'is her name.' Iklil wrote down these questions, and Jewad said, ' Separate the letters of the sentence you have written, and strike out these which occur more than once, and take those remaining, beginning at the end.' When this was done eighteen letters remained. ' My lord,' resumed Jewad, ' in the technical language of the cabalists 13 ^94 THE STORY OF JEWAD. are employed phrases figurative in the mys- teries of onomancy, such as this,' — and he repeated an incomprehensible Arabic dis- tich, and resumed, — ' the sixteenth letter of this distich is the letter of the answer ; col- lect the others in like fashion.' When they had collected them, there resulted the fol- lowing sentence : She is the daughter of Ldrl, ETnperor of China ; and they call her ■name Ferah-Nds. And Iklil perceived the extent of the science and talent of Jewad, and how great a philosopher he was ; and he rose and kissed his hand and begged his sublime assistance. The Real Effectuator planted firmly in a mysterious manner the love of Ferah-Naz in the heart of Iklil ; and as he yearned and longed for her excessively, imaging her and picturing union with her, the traces of love- longing clouded his perfect beauty, and the sadness of melancholy began to be apparent in the manner of his speech and in the tint of his rosy cheek. One day his father, the King, having perceived the dejection of his THE STORY OF JEWAD. 195 son, said to Jewad, ' My life, Jewad Baba, I like not the appearance of your adopted brother Iklll ; what has happened to the Prince, you must surely know ?' ' My lord,' replied Jewad, ' can it be that you have for- gotten your imperial command to me to render the Prince desirous of marriage ? Complying with your order, I have not only rendered him desirous of marriage, but have made him enamoured of an unseen maiden. What you see is the stress of love.' Then the King rejoiced as though he had become lord of all the world, and said, ' My master, Jewad Baba, may God be pleased with thee ; but would it were not a matter con- nected with another clime, whereof the accomplishment is well-nigh impossible.' When the other replied, ' My lord, it is the daughter of Larl Khan, Emperor of the realms of Cathay,' the King said, ' Alas ! we have fallen upon a great difficulty, our rank will not permit of our gaining her.' ' My master,' answered Jewad, 'be calm of heart, your slave is pledged to unite them ; but he 196 THE STORY OF JEWAD. begs of you not to disclose this until the love of the Prince grows ardent, for the ardour of love causeth the endurance of af- fection and attachment so long as God doth, will.' After this conversation with the King, he repaired to the room of Iklil, whom he thus addressed, ' If you grant per- mission I shall inform your father of what has passed, and beg him to use his royal endeavour to procure at all hazards Ferah- Naz.' Iklil smiled and said, ' My master, Jewad Baba, be kind, there is no use in speaking to my father ; our condition is that of the meanest of the servants of the Em- peror ; it were very far from our sphere to endeavour to gain his daughter ; we should only vex and grieve my father to no end.' 'Ah! my lord,' Jewad answered, 'there is not in this world any affair to which no way exists, nor any business to which no path can be found. Come, then, I will talk for once on the subject with your father.' So, having forced the Prince's consent, he again entered the presence of the King, THE STORY OF JEWAD. 197 and detailed to him the conversation he had held with Iklil, and then said, ' My lord, now call I kill and ask him gaily concerning his plight ; and I will show my lord some- what.' They sent a man to summon the Prince, whom, on his entrance, the King motioned to sit respectfully beside Jewad Baba. Then smiling, according to the in- junction, the King thus addressed Iklll, ' My son, thy adopted brother has at last turned thee from thy foolish notions ; although the object of thy desire is apparently difficult of accomplishment, still nothing can overcome manly endeavour. If it please God (exalted be He /) we shall ere long gratify thy ■wishes.' Iklil bashful and confused, was looking straight in front of him, when Jewad said to the King, ' My lord, there is indeed no doubt that everything can ere long be accomplished by your lofty endeavour ; still it is strange that the Prince should so fall in love with a being whom he knows not, and that for one or two tales and meaningless jests of mine his moon-bright beauty should 1 98 THE STORY OF JEWAD be thus dimmed through longing for her. This morning I scarce recognised him at first. Dost thou know what thou art Hke, my Prince ? Rise and look at thyself for a moment in that mirror.' And he motioned him to look in a mirror that was opposite the King. The King too, following Jewad's instructions, ordered him to do so, and Iklll rose and looked in the mirror, and the mo- ment he did so his appearance and the colour of his face were altered, and he stood cataleptic like a Sa'dl dervish.* When the King saw this plight of his darling, he said in the greatest consternation, 'What has befallen thee?' ' O my lord,' replied the Prince, ' I saw in the mirror that very dam- sel whom I beheld in my vision long ago.' And the King and the Prince were bewil- dered and looked in the face of Jewad. And Jewad thus addressed Iklil, ' My Prince, that maiden whom thou sawest is the daughter of the Emperor ; if it please God (exalted be He /) I shall ere long gratify thy wishes ; * A dervish of the order founded by Sa'du-'d-Dm el-Jebavi. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 199. but till I come beware that thou do nothing in this matter, and vex not thy heart, be as- sured that the maiden shall be thine.' So saying, Jewad vanished from before the King and Prince, leaving them both plunged in amazement. When Jewad disappeared from before the King and Prince he went to the city of Pekin, where he changed his appearance and assumed that of a heathen priest. Now„ they had in that city a false god called the Great Kisa, a mighty idol, a monster about the size of Leander's Tower,* some two hundred cubits high. At each corner of his temple was a column, and between each of the four columns was hung a curtain of Cathayan gold-brocade ; round the curtains was a space ten cubits wide, which, instead of being paved with marble, was covered with fire, and all round the fire there was a moat of water, thirty cubits wide. This water was always boiling, but its heat was not as that of ordinary warm water, for if a A"t Constantinople. 200 THE STORY OF JEWAD. piece of wood or a stone were thrown therein, it at once melted it and caused it to disappear, as nitric acid corrodes, but more quickly. All round about this lake were erected strange and wonderful buildings ; those were numerous temples where thous- ands of priests were engaged in worship- ping from a distance the idol which was behind the curtain. They called the chief priest the Per-No-Per, and he was more re- vered by them than the Emperor himself Jewad, having discovered this by his science, went straight to the temple of the Chief Priest and entered the room where he was ; and, enquiring for his health and cir- cumstances, after the fashion of an equal, passed up and seated himself The Priest, seeing the youth of Jewad and his unman- nerly conduct, waxed exceeding wroth and said, ' Who art thou, and what art thou, and whence art thou?' 'I am of China,' replied Jewad, ' and am come at the sum- mons of the Great Kisa ; last night while I was worshipping alone, the Great Kisa ap- THE STORY OF JEWAD. 20I peared to me and said, " I have chosen thee to be my guardian, do thou come into my presence ; and tell the man who is now the Per-No-Per that by reason of his great age he must yield to thee his office and retire into the corner of seclusion. If he obey not this order he shall become the object of my wrath and fury. Should he ask of thee, he has committed such and such a sin at such and such a time in such and such a place, and to gain pardon for that crime he held up his left hand for twelve years, and was forgiven ; no person knows these things, only I and he. This is proof enough ; let him credit thee." ' The poor old man, quak- ing and trembling, rose and swept the dust at Jewad's feet with his white beard and said, ' My master, what is your command ? I shall this moment arise and go whitherso- ever you order me,' ' No,' answered Jewad, ' thou art an acceptable servant of the Great Idol, having been so many years in his ser- vice, we shall remain together ; but now go thou to the Emperor and the other great men 202 THE STORY OF JEWAD. and tell them all to assemble here on the morrow; for the Great Kisa has ordered that they all be here when I go into his presence.' ' Most willingly,' said the old man, and having laid his face in the dust, he went to summon them. This wonderful event was noised through the city ; and in the morning all assembled, and the Emperor and the army stood re- spectfully, observing the beauty of Jewad. Taking the old Per- No- Per to his side, Jewad said, ' Let us pray to the Great Kisa;' and while he was passing through the throng of people to the water's edge, he saw that Ferah-Naz was standing by her father's side looking on. When he reached the water Jewad raised his hands as if he were praying, while in reality he was in- voking many a curse on the vile soul of the infamous sorcerer who had made the Kisa. They saw a part of the curtain drawn aside and a terrible dragon, such as may not be pictured or imagined, emerged. It came straight up to Jewad and said, ' My master, THE STORY OF JEWAD. 203 if your leave be granted, I shall devour the daughter of the Emperor.' ' Nay,' was the reply, ' until I have gone into the presence pf the Image and learned her crime thou shalt do her no hurt ; return to thy place ;' and he sent it back. Thereupon there came from the place of the Kisa a richly-capari- soned horse ; when it stood by Jewad's side he gracefully mounted it, and while he was riding on he said to the old priest, ' Go, tell the Emperor to take that vain girl hence and let her not stand there in front of the Kisa.' Having thus warned him, Jewad rose into the air, and when he came near to the curtain it opened of its own accord and he entered and it closed again. And the folk stared with wonder at these strange events. In the meantime the old priest went to the Emperor and said, ' For Heaven's sake, stay not here, take away that vain creature, thy daughter, and begone. Didst not thou see the dragon and hear the reason of its coming ?' When he had related the whole 204 THE STORY OF JEWAD. incident, the unhappy Emperor returned to his palace with fear and trembling. These events well nigh turned the people of the city from their old faith and made them in- vest Jewad with divinity ; and the cries of *ezin-ku-per,' which in the language of Cathay means extolled be the perfection of God, and the peals of the bells which were tolled in the temples ascended to the star Capella. When two hours had elapsed, Jewad returned as before and descended with dignity from the horse which went back again. And Jewad came and sat in his place,- and the folk advanced in com- panies and rubbed their faces in the dust at his feet, and gave him joy of his return, and showered upon him sequins and jewels in- numerable. That night passed, and when it was morning a servant of the Emperor came and said, ' If the permission of the Per-No- Per be granted, the Emperor seeks leave to come and kiss the dust at his feet.' As he granted permission, though assuming indif-' THE STORY OF JEWAD. 205 ference, the Emperor came with great hu- mility and rubbed his face in the dust at Jewad's feet, and humbly begged forgive- ness for his past sins. Comforting the Em- peror and treating him with kindness, Jewad said, ' The god is well pleased with thee because thou art a wise and merciful Em- peror, and has forgiven all of thy faults ; but thy daughter is living in mighty sin, and I much entreated the Great Kisa and have saved her from his fury.' Then the Emperor wept much and bitterly and said, ' My mas- ter, whatsoever her sin be, she shall turn from it and repent ; or, if it be possible to expiate it by lavishing treasure, I shall thus seek its pardon ;' and he clasped the feet of Jewad. ' Send word to Ferah-Naz that she come, and we shall see ; if she repent, her pardon is probable,' was the reply. So Ferah-Naz was summoned into the presence of Jewad. When she came she made to fall at the feet of the Per- No- Per, but he cried harshly and sternly, ' Hold ! approach me not, it is'grievous sin even to look on the 206 THE STORY OF JEWAD. face of a sinner like to thee.' When he said this, the peerless frame of Ferah-Naz, formed of the young rose-leaf, trembled as though seized with fever, and she fell to weeping. Jewad had become acquainted through spiritual means with all that had occurred during the conversations between the Princess and Libaba, so he addressed the Emperor thus : ' Though few have been created like this thy daughter, a possessor of honour and a lady of refinement, yet by reason of a certain evil notion she has be- come more guilty in the eyes of the Great Kisa than all the other women in the world. Her sin is this : having seen a vision, she refuses to have any intercourse with men ; and howsoever much her nurse has coun- selled her she still remains obstinate and positive. If this obstinacy should spread to other women and they acquire the custom of not marrying, it will be the cause of the extinction of the worshippers of the Great Kisa; that is her sin.' Then turning to Ferah-Naz, he said, ' Dost not thou know THE STORY OF JEWAD. 20/ that the interpretation of a vision is the op- posite of what is seen, not the very thing itself? Why didst not thou make the male deer the female, and the female the male ? There is ho constancy in those ; what mad- man ever believed that it existed in schem- ing women ? That fair youth whom thou sawest in the vision is Iklllu-'l-Mulk, son of the King of Cashmere ; the Great Kisa has given thee to him, and if thou accept him not from heart and soul, thou shalt repent it.' The poor Emperor, who, imagining his daughter's sin to be something reflecting on her honour, had been ashamed, was over- come with joy and delight on hearing those words, and kissed the feet of Jewad. His daughter too repented of her sin from the depths of her heart ; and, having beheld the beauty of the Prince in her vision, she de- clared that she accepted him from heart and soul, and said that if it were ordered her she would walk forthwith all the way to Cashmere and kiss the dust at his feet. Jewad, altering his manner, said, 'Well 208 THE STORY OF JEWAD. done, my daughter, see, how this will please the Great Kisa ! But departure is depen- dant on his will ; let them provide thee with a private room, and there for a few days oc- cupy thyself with worship along with thy nurse Libaba, all of whose sins are pardoned for her having exhorted thee, and who is a most acceptable servant of the Kisa. After that we shall see what the god will ordain.' Then Ferah-Naz kissed the ground before Jewad and returned joyous to her private room ; and the Emperor also went to his palace with a happy heart. When Jewad had thus gained his object and secured his treasure, he thought in him- self, 'Although her conversion is of those things possible at any time, yet it were not well to bring her in this heathenism ; it were better to convert her here.' Having thus decided, two days afterwards he called Ferah-Naz before him and received her with mxich. kindness and rejoiced her by telling her that all her sins were pardoned, and said, ' Thou canst not conceive how I THE STORY OF JEWAD. 209 am pleased at thy thus repenting and lo\ ing Iklil in sincerity ; above all, the Great Kisa, besides forgiving all thy faults, has deemed thee worthy an honour never till this mo- ment granted any person : he has com- manded thee to be brought into his presence; come, let us go.' And he took her hand, and when they came to the edge of that dread and terrible water, he said, ' My daughter, Ferah-Naz, let not my robe slip from thy hand, and fear nothing and follow me ;' and he began to walk upon the water. Ferah-Naz, too, gathering courage, stepped upon the water, and when she perceived that it was as if she trod upon a lawn, with- out fear and without dismay she passed to the fire ; and not only had the fire no effect upon her, but she felt not even the slightest heat therefrom. They came to the curtain and Jewad raised it, and they passed within. Ferah-Naz looked and saw that there was behind the curtain nought save an empty space, and she asked, ' Where is the Great Kisa ?' ' Sit down and I shall tell thee,' said 14 2IO THE STORY OF JEWAD. Jewad, and he seated her and sat down be- side her, and thus spoke : ' My daughter, for many thousand years has thy nation been deceived by this strange sorcery, blindly believing in a false god behind this curtain. The Absolute Deity who hath created this earth and these heavens and thee and me and all men and all worlds is unfettered by the conditions of place and space. Just as the soul is surely existent in the human body and yet can have no special place assigned to it, so is the True Deity, who is the Creator of all beings, exempt from any definite locality. And like as the soul is unable to be seen, so, too, is the True Deity invisible. But as speech and the motions of the body are signs and proofs that the soul is present in the body, so do the revolutions and motions of the planets and the spheres, and the rotation of the four seasons, and the growth and decay of all creatures, show that this world has a Creator and a Lord. And many other signs there are ; yea, every atom is a witness, if THE STORY OF JEWAD. 211 thou but consider it. And the universe is not merely this world which thou dost see ; as while asleep we wander in the world of dreams, so when we die must we pass to another world, which they call the World of the Hereafter. Then shall all those who have believed in that Deity be blessed in bowers and gardens amid joys and pleasures innumerable, such as eyes have not seen or ears heard, and which fade not away or vanish, but are eternal. But' those who trust in lies and sorceries like this Kisa must enter then a fire, not like the false fire of this Kisa, but such that if a single spark therefrom were to fall upon the earth, it would reduce the whole world to ashes. That fire they call Hell. But we have not found this sure and certain knowledge through our own learning ; a beloved one, faithful and upright, called Muhammed, came from that True Deity and taught us ; and we know and believe him to be true. It is by reason of my greatly loving thee that I have brought thee here, that thou might 2 12 THE STORY OF JEWAD. know this place to be void and turn from this idolatry. My suffering no hurt from the sorceries of this Kisa, and my knowing" what thou sawest in that vision, and my comprehending many thousand things un- seen, and my being able to nullify and set aside these falsities, are through my believ- ing in that True Diety, whose glorious name is God, and through my acknowledg- ing and confessing Muhammed, His Be- loved. Thou too, if thou believe that there is in the heavens and the earth no other god than that God, and that whatsoever Muhammed, His Beloved, hath said is right and true, shalt attain to those eternal joys and shalt be, like me, able to annul such sorceries and to know things unseen. But, if thou believe not my words, thou must without doubt remain for ever in the fire.' When Ferah-Naz, whose wisdom and up- rightness have been mentioned in her con- versation with her nurse, heard from Jewad these words of guidance, she fell at his feet and thus made confession, ' It is not un- THE STORY OF JEWAD. 213 known to the God of whom you speak that from the time when I attained to discretion, I have known the rites of the idolators to be vain through this reasoning, that al- though this perilous sea is wondrous when beheld, there is many and many a realm far from here, the people of which know not even the name thereof; yet bread is pro- vided to those people from the unseen world. Thus considered, it is clear that the truth concerning this Kisa is that it is vanity and enchantment. Thus have I ever thought : praise be to God that by your aid I have solved the problem.' When she had become a Muslim by repeating the Two Words of the Profession, she said, ' Things are -so; but you, my master, who are you ?' So he told her that his name was Jewad, and all about how he had come on purpose to take her to I kill. She' asked, ' O my master, how shall we go ?' And Jewad answered her, ' Do thou go out from bere and fear not the fire and the water, henceforward such enchantments can have 214 THE STORY OF JEWAD. no effect on thee. Go straight to thy father and tell him that I brought thee hither, and that after my entrance here the Great Kisa will never give me leave to come forth, and that the Image has ordered him to send thee this day to Cashmere. I now go thither, and, if it please God, I will come forth to meet thee with the troops when thou arrivest. But should they ask thee what the image is like, answer that it is unlawful to describe it, and let not anyone discover the secret.' So saying he sent Ferah-Naz to her father, and transported himself to the door of the King's room in Cashmere. By happy chance Iklll was in the presence of the King, and they were talking about Jewad when he entered. ' Thank God !' he cried, and he paid the respects due to royalty, and the King and Iklil both rose to welcome him, manifesting great delight. But Iklil trem- bled, for it was only five days since he had started, and he feared some obstacle had arisen which had occasioned his return. Jewad comprehended his thoughts and said. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 215 'O my Prince, be happy. I have con- strained Ferah-Naz to love thee, and she is coming here desiring union with thee;' and he related everything as it had happened. And they both of them wondered and mar- velled, and they perceived what manner of man was Jewad, though in appearance but a dervish. Although the King was pleased at the joy of his son, he dreaded the power and might of Jewad, and a fear such as this took possession of his heart:, 'should he be in any way offended with us, it is certain that in a single moment he could give our kingdom and our life to the winds.' So as- suming great politeness, he said, as if ashamed of his past conduct, ' Pray come up here, my master,' and motioned to a place at his side. Jewad, by his divine in- sight, perceived what was passing in the mind of the King, and, smiling, answered, ' No, my lord, this sort of conduct is a scolding of your servant. I am your slave. It is not right that my master's royal heart should be changed towards me because of 2l6 THE STORY OF JEWAD. my displaying a few BektashI tricks. I beg that you doubt not that Providence in ap- pointing me for your glorious service means to bless your royal heart, and that you be- lieve me to be amongst the meanest of your slaves, howsoever much I may be unworthy of that honour. But if you are going to consider me a magic-working scoundrel, who, if he be not honoured and flattered, will play you some trick, tell me so at once, there is no need of ceremony, and I shall be off and away to some other land.' The King was amazed at this knowledge and penetration of Jewad, and he strained him to his bosom and received him as a son in no wise differing from Iklll, and swore by God the Most High Ruler never again to cease from trusting him. And Jewad like- wise promised henceforward to accept Hurmuz Shah in all respects as his true father and Iklll as his dear brother ; and they grasped one another's hands and spliced the bond of paternity and fraternity; and their hearts were filled with joy. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 21/ Two or three days afterwards when Iklil was with Jewad he began to recite the chorus : ' Alas ! alas ! my love, my life, when is it thou wilt come ?' to which Jewad, to console him, answered with the song : ' Be patient, heart, one day shalt thou to thy desire attain.' Another day when Jewad and Iklil were seated in the presence of the King, en- gaged in mystic converse and spiritual di- version, one of the ministers entered bearing a document. When the King had made himself aware of its contents the colour of his face changed, and he handed it to Jewad, who looked at it and saw that they had written thereon that Qara Khan the King of the Moguls, an ancient enemy, had now crossed the frontier with an army greater than the land could hold and, by hurrying as if on a foray, had approached to within three days' journey of the capital. 2l8 THE STORY OF JEWAD. Jewad gave back the document to the King" and smiled, whereupon the latter said, ' My dear, this is no affair of mirth, the foe is mighty ; what is your advice in this matter ?' On help and aid being thus sought from him, Jewad replied, ' My King, my lord, seeing that God who maketh hard things easy hath given thee a son like Jewad, it is not right that thou be anxious over an evident play- thing such as this. To-morrow, if it please God (exalted be He /), order thou a levee to be held in such and such a pavilion by the city gate ; an opportunity for a fine spectacle has arisen. But, my lord, my brother's patience and repose have departed — he will not accept comfort ; it cannot be helped though, the cause being a maid, my King.' When he had thus jestingly changed the subject, the King was assured of his might and power and was comforted. But still the human nature is wonderful, he could not dismiss the idea of external means and outward causes, so he again betrayed his anxiety by saying, ' Is no preparation of the THE STORY OF JEW AD. 219 appliances of defence necessary ? Let us at least order the generals and officers to get ready the troops they have at hand.' ' No, my Sovereign,' answered Jewad, 'summon now your minister and instruct him how that the people are to put on their best clothes and adorn themselves as they do at the Festival and the New Year, how that nothing of the nature of a weapon of war is to be worn by any person, and how that they are to range themselves outside the city gate. Though the minister should ap- pear dismayed, pay thou no attention to his promptings and suggestions.' Having thus instructed the King, he went with Iklll to his own room, where they gave themselves up to mirth. So the minister was summoned, and when he heard from the King these orders like a hashish-eater's dream, he was confounded, and returned and sat down in his place and thus thought, ' There must be some vision which the eyes of that man can see, other- wise there were no use of such instructions : 220 THE STORY OF JEWAD. / extol the perfection of God : There is no strength nor any power saving in God' So he assembled all the officers and grandees of the State, and began his address with the noble verse, ' Verily we belong unto God'* and when he had explained what were the orders of the King, surprise fell upon every one and they despaired of their lives, and each retired and wept. Two days afterwards the levee was held according to the instructions of Jewad, and while the grandees and the vezirs and the officers and the ministers and all were eagerly watching the road, they saw an ass upon which was a man whose two hands were firmly tied to the pommel of the saddle, and a lad twelve years old led the animal by the headstall. Behind the ass came four men bound with chains, their hands man- acled behind their backs ; after these came other four bound men, with chains round their necks joining them with the first four ; behind those came others, and so on till * Qur'an, ii., 151. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 221 twelve thousand men all bound with chains passed like a file of cranes. Great terror fell upon the people, and while they were gazing, wondering what it could be, Jewad whispered in the ear of the King, ' Lo, the mah on the ass is Qara Khan ; send your minister to welcome him and bring him be- fore you ; lodge the rest, fettered, in prison.' ' Who is the lad who leads the ass ?' asked the King. ' My lord,' answered Jewad, ' he is one of the slaves in the service of your slave ; I sent that child out last night and he has bound all that army.' Then said the King addressing the minister, ' Dost thou see the mercy of God ? Thanks be to Him ; he who is on the ass is our enemy Qara Khan ; go, bring him before us.' So the Vezir went and met Qara Khan and loosed his bonds and brought him to the King. He omitted nought of the honours due to kings ; and Hurmuz Shah said to him with dignity, 'What is this?' 'Last night,' replied Qara Khan, 'great fatigue fell upon myself and my army, and 222 THE STORY OF JEWAD. we slept heavily ; when it was morning we found ourselves upon the road fettered in this fashion. I know not what is the cause thereof; but it would seem to be a punish- ment for my having meditated evil against thee without provocation, a sign of the might of the Merciful Ruler.' Hurmuz Shah replied to comfort him, ' Very good, your confession of your sin is an indication that henceforward you will live peaceably.' And they each mounted a royal steed and rode side by side to the palace. That night there was a regal banquet; and on the morrow, according to Jewad's instructions, a high divan was held. Two thrones were erected in the place of honour, and the Kings sat side by side. Hurmuz Shah then called to him the Chief Preceptor and said, ' Interrogate my brother, Qara Khan, con- cerning the peace and alliance that is be- tween us ; and write down what he says.' When Qara Khan was asked, that poor man, knowing not what he ought to say, rose and held up his hands before the divan THE STORY OF JEWAD. 223 and made answer, ' People of Muhammed, bear witness that henceforward I and my children's children gird the loins of obedi- ence to the commands of Hurmuz Shah and his children's children. If I depart from this pledge, or if any of my children rebel against this house, may we be the objects of the wrath of God, and disgraced in this world and in that to come.' When he had uttered these words in a loud voice, they were written in gold upon a paper, which was handed to Hurmuz Shah, who said, ' O my King, I beg that you will rest at ease for a few days our guest ; but order your troops to take their tents and baggage back from the place where they now are to your capital ; and retain here only your private attendants.' So all Qara Khan's soldiers and servants were liberated ; and after they had been treated with feasts for a day or two, Hurmuz Shah instructed his minister to see about their departure ; thus, having got rid of the presence of the troops, they passed each day with joy 2 24 TIIE STORY OF JEWAD. and pleasure in some charming spot or promenade. Let us go to Ferah-Naz : she went forth from the Kisa, and, having without fear passed over the fire and the water, came to her father's palace and met with her parents. When she had told the Emperor that the Per- No- Per was going to remain in the presence of the image, and that he had or- dered the old Per- No- Per to be reinstated, and herself to set out in three days' time for Cashmere, and had given him some other messages, he wondered and marvelled at the case of the priest. And straightway he made preparations for the road, and gave her, by way of dower, countless rarities and curiosities worth the world, which for these many thousand years had been being col- lected in the treasuries of Cathay, and ap- pointed some thousands of horsemen and footmen as guards, and sent her to the bridal bower, the city of Cashmere. When she was come near that city, private emis- saries informed Jewad, who with a grand THE STORY OF JEWAD. 225 array went forth to meet the bride. Jewad was paranymph ; and for forty days they feasted and made merry, and they married Ikhl and Ferah-Naz, and grafted those two fair tree.s of the garden of the earth. One day, while the mirth and merriment were yet going on, the guest Qara Khan, observing the regal attention shown to Jewad in the presence of the King, and imagining that Hurmuz Shah was fond of dervishes, and that that person was his sheykh, but thinking that even were such the case, it was unbecoming that one so young should be the guide and director of an old man, said to the King, ' My lord, surely yonder dervish is of your kin- dred.' The King replied, ' My lord, he is my son, who prayeth for you ; but judge not of him by the fewness of his years : he studies spiritual sciences and chooses to wear that form.' 'Very good, my lord,' answered he ; and then addressing Jewad with much affection, said, ' Son, I much love dervishes; indeed my Kingship — IS 226 THE STORY OF JEWAD. which now I owe to the pardon and kind- ness of this monarch of lofty rank — is the blessing arising from the noble words of an honoured saint ; if the King grant permis- sion, I shall relate the story.' Leave having been given, he thus began the tale of his adventures : — THE STORY OF QARA KHAN. " I am a native of Basra. Being a poor man, I became, through reason of my poverty, a sailor in one of the ocean ships, and in that manner I gained my livelihood. After many other voyages, we went to New Holland, and on our return, when we were over against the island of Ceylon, we en- countered a great storm, so that we ran on for five days and nights, it being impossible to look at the chart or compass. On the sixth day the hurricane abated, and we had not gone far ere the wind fell altogether, and the calm was such that even a twig THE STORY OF JEWAD. 22/ would have lain motionless upon the sea. The master took the astrolabe in his hand, and looked at the sun ; he found that we had deviated twenty-one degrees from our course, so, according to the reckoning that every degree is sixty-six and two-thirds miles, we were 1350 miles astray; but as we had no register we were ignorant as to what longitude we were in. While we were thinking of these things the ship began to move although there was no wind, and her speed gradually increased to such a rate that favouring breezes could not have borne her along so quickly ; and we all marvelled at this. In the course of two hours we could discern a shore, and a little afterwards we reached it. The vessel came upon the shore broadside on, and we saw her cleave thereto as though she had been fastened to it by a thousand nails. Crying ' We extol the perfection of God /' we all streamed out; but what did we see ? — the shore was com- posed of mountains of loadstone ; and then we knew that to be the reason of the ves- 228 THE STORY OF JEWAD. sel's advancing with so great rapidity. But there was no help for it. We all assembled together and consulted, and we came to the conclusion that there was no resource but that each should go in a different direction and see if he could find any village or road, and should return in the evening and inform his comrades. " So we each set out, with this purpose, in a different direction to seek and search. In that which I went was a high hill. Thinking to myself that it were better to climb to the top of this mountain and look around than wander vacantly in the plain, I ascended to the summit, heeding not the fatigue. I saw there a temple ; I gave God thanks thinking it an omen of good; but looking round I could see no signs of habi- tation. I entered the temple, it was empty, but a drum and a stick were hanging on one wall and opposite them was a tablet. I ap- proached and saw inscribed thereon in a beautiful hand in the Persian language : ' O ye shipmen who happen here ! be it known THE STORY OF JEWAD. 229 tinto you that hence is no escape. I, who am Zabir of the children of Jupiter, versed in magic and enchantments : an adverse wind having cast me here, I have raised this building as my monument and have placed herein this talisman, by means of which, if any man of a ship's company that falleth into this woe consent through zeal and love of God to sacrifice himself that he may save the rest, he may avail thereto. Let all the travellers enter the ship, and when all is ready let that self-sacrificer come here and strike this drum with the stick three times : at the first stroke the ship shall be removed from this place as far as the sight can reach, at the second stroke to a distance of five hundred miles, at the third stroke they shall gain a place of safety.' When I had read this and understood it, I sped back with haste to the vessel's side, and, having discovered that none of the others had any information, I mentioned the drum and the stick and the writing on the tablet. We all sat down together and deliberated. Each 230 THE STORY OF JEWAD. said, ' After I am dead what matter is the safety of the rest to me ? If we must die, let us die together.' I saw that none of them had zeal enough for this deed, so I thus addressed them, ' Brothers, since we have made sure of death in this place, now is the Hereafter at hand for us and the world afar ; is not it needful at last to pre- pare for the Hereafter? I will sacrifice my- self for the love of God ; do ye rise and enter the ship.' " Taking some bread and a skin full of water, I went to the place of the drum, and, heeding not the suggestions of Satan, struck it with the stick as soon as I entered. I went forth and saw that the ship was no longer in her place, but far out at sea. I entered again and twice struck the drum with the stick ; and went out and saw that the ship was v/hoUy lost to view, and I knew that they were in safety. Swinging the skin on to my back, I went down the other side of the hill, and after I had wandered on for ten days the sea again appeared before my THE STORY OF JEWAD. 231 eyes, and I knew that the place was an island. When I reached the shore I sat down, and as the bread and water were fin- ished I awaited the coming of death, While lying on the margin of the ocean, it came into my mind how it was better to die in the sea than on the land ; and, having a little strength left, and knowing that an effort to save one's self in the deep is the cause of a reward in the other world,* I blew out the empty skin and firmly tied its mouth.. Mounting upon it as on a horse, I launched myself out into the sea and began to move my legs like oars. Now, just as the prop- erty of the one side of the loadstone was attraction, that of the other was repulsion ; I had a key with me, and I saw that the speed of the skin was quicker than that of a six-oared boat. Its speed gradually in- creased, and at the end of two hours I per- ceived a shore. When I had arrived thereat, I landed and I saw that it was a place like a false Paradise, adorned with various sorts * A person who has been drowned is considered a martyr. 232 • THE STORY OF JEWAD. of trees and numerous streams and all kinds of fruits. I bowed my face to the ground, and ate of the fruits and satisfied my hun- ger, and drank of the sweet water of the streams and gave thanks and praise to God. " As night came on, I laid myself in a corner and went to sleep. When it was morning, I rose again and ate some fruits, and went along, following the course of a stream, and I found every spot to be beauti- ful and charming. Having ascended a hill, I saw before me in the distance in the mid- dle of a plain a vast dome covered with gold. ' Praise be to God !' I cried, ' I doubt not but that is the sign of deliverance ; but the presence of a golden dome in the midst of an empty plain like yon is remote from reason ; is it a magic phantom, or what is it? But whatever it be it would not do but to go to it.' So I went to the dome and found it to be a building such that if all the kings of the earth were to assemble together for the purpose, they could not produce one THE STORY OF JEWAD. 233 Stone like those of which it was constructed : that description is sufficient. I went three times round its four sides, but could dis- cover no trace of door or window, and while I was looking at it in bewilderment, I saw a man in the distance beckoning me with his hand to come to him. I at once went to him ; he was a grey-bearded qalender, and he said, ' Come, brother, you are welcome.' We sat down in the shade of a tree, and he drove away my fears by his great kindness. He then took from his wallet a warm nicely- cooked fowl, and a loaf of fine bread ; these he placed before me telling me to eat them. I ate the whole of the fowl and the bread, and satisfied myself and praised God, and I asked out of gratitude, ' My saint, who are you and what manner of place is that ?' ' Son,' answered he, ' that place is the holy tomb of Our Lord Imam Muhammed Baqir,* the descendant of the pure Prophet ; and I am of its guardians and attendants. God's bringing thee hither is because of His satis- * The Fifth Imam. 234 THE STORY OF JEWAD. faction with thee for thy sacrificing of thy- self.' When the dervish said this I was amazed at his penetration. About an hour afterwards he asked me, saying, ' O brother, dost thou now desire to go?' 'Where should I go?' I asked. 'To thine own country,' he replied. ' Thou shalt pass be- yond that hill and go on,' said he ; and he gave me a tablet of Chinese jade, about the size of the palm of the hand, engraven with strange characters. Then he continued, ' Wear it upon thy head, and by the virtue of this tablet thou shalt wear a kingly crown ; the tablet itself shall surely reach him whom I intend.' " I placed the tablet upon my head, and thereupon a giddiness came over me, and I shut my eyes ; I wished myself in Basra, and I found myself sitting in my mother's house.' Ere long the ship with my com- panions returned ; and they were aston- ished at finding me in Basra, and asked concerning my adventures. I told them that there was a harbour on the other side THE STORY OF JEW AD. 235 of the island, and that I had got on board a ship and come. From that time the Lord Most High has given me ease of circum- stances and abundance of weakh ; day by day these increased till the extent of my riches reached such a degree that it was the cause of a dispute with the King of Basra. I fled with many men to the country of the Moguls, and stretched forth my hand on every side ; and at last, behold, I am, thank God, King of the Moguls. Look you, son,, that is how a dervish ought to be." Jewad said, ' My lord, is it possible to see that tablet ?' ' Surely, surely,' replied Qara Khan, and he unrolled his turban ; upon his cap was a purse firmly sewed up. He ripped open the purse and handed the tablet to Jewad, who looked at it with attention and saw the following written upon it in the basil hand :* ' O my brother Jewad, the Divine Knowledge is not to be gained by ' Reyhdni, a sort of ornamental hand-writing, said to be so named because of the resemblance of the pen with which it is written to the leaf of the sweet basil. 236 THE STORY OF JEWAD. viewing the circumstances of the earth ; the travel of the Mystic Journey is a boundless ocean, the shore of which not even the Prophets have been able to reach, as is at- tested by the pearl-scattering words, ^Glo7y be to Thee / We have not known Thee accord- ing to the due of thijie acquaintanceship.^* After thousands of years of travel through the climes of truths and the plains of the exposition of subtleties, all that thou wouldst see would be thine own art or thine own knowledge. Waste not time ; restrain thy- self from looking at thyself, and draw tight the girdle of endurance to reach the realm of dissolution. Light thy heart then with that brilliant radiancy : How long wilt thou lick the plate of 'Bii-'Ali? t Success in this matter is dependent on seek- ing inspiration with pure belief And peace is on him who followeth direction! * This is a Hadis, or traditional saying of the Apostle, t 'Bii-'Ali for EM-'AIT, his teacher. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 237 When Jewad understood the meaning of what was written on the tablet, he uttered a great cry ; and he restored it to Qara Khan. Hurmuz Shah and Iklll asked the reason of the cry, and he repHed : ' That same moment when I washed me at the fountain pure of Love, Over the Two Worlds and all things I the burial-service read.* O my master, you ask of its reason and its cause ; travel is now incumbent on your slave.' And he embraced the King and Iklll and bade them farewell. Then he went to his room, and with joy performed the ablution and sat upon the prayer-mat and repeated this supplication ; ' O Helper of understanding ; and no one attaineth to un- derstanding unless Thou perfect his under- standing. And O Viewer of the heart ; and its knowledge sufficeth not tcnless Thou make sufficient its inspiration. And O Thotc Present to every existent thing ; and * i. e., When I was filled with the Divine Love I gave up all thought alike for this world and the next. 238 THE STORY OF JEWAD. there is no existent thing, -unless lost tn the necessity of His existence.' And he laid his head on the pillow of seeking inspira- tion. Straightway he opened his eyes, and he found himself lying on a shore near a vast city, a mighty capital. He rose, and won- dering, said in himself, ' My life, I was in my room in such and such a place, this that is before me resembles not our city. There is no strength nor any power, saving in God. Am I in a vision ?' In a single mo- ment poor Jewad forgot all that he knew — those spiritual sciences and strange arts that he had learned, and practised for so long, all his wisdom and attainments, his manifest gifts, his initiation into the arcana; nay, even what he had learned and compre- hended through his five outer and inner human senses ; and he stood as though new born from his mother, staring all around him in confusion. He saw a person of seemingly threescore-and-five years, and he said to him, ' My life, my good father, what THE STORY OF JEWAD. 239 manner of city is this, and who are you?' The man replied, ' They call this city the City of Belovedness,* and my name is Hafiz Mustafa; I am of the inhabitants of the city, a poor man, one who has abandoned the world. But thou seemest to be a stranger?' Jewad answered, 'Yes, I am of the city of Athens.' Then the man said, ' Since thou art a stranger, come with me to my private house ;' and he took Jewad by the hand, and they entered the city. It was a city, the stones and blocks of all the gates and walls and houses of which were of red rubby, even the flags wherewith it was paved were of pomegranate-coloured ruby, and engraven with beautiful characters ; so that it were impossible for one in a thousand years to complete the study of the Divine Mysteries which the art of the Sempiternal had written upon its every stone, and upon every leaf of its every tree. But what could poor Jewad do ? That time was not the * Mahbubiyya. 240 THE STORY OF JEWAD. time for study, and his skill in deciphering had passed away. They somehow reached that person's dwelling ; as he was of those who had abandoned the world, there were no ceremonial restraints in his house ; it was a house so free of ceremony that it were impossible to describe it ; yet the meanest of its countless servants could have made a beggar a Korah * and a King of the Kings of the earth. After resting a little the man said, ' O son, as you have come to our city, it is necessary you go before our King.' And he took Jewad by the hand and led him to the palace of the King. The ap- pearance of the palace, and the splendour of the courtiers, and the magnificence of the divan, may be judged from the circum- stances of a poor man of the city. The hap- less Jewad had left him no eye to see, or un- derstanding to observe, or comprehension to know, or tongue to speak. When he en- tered the Royal presence and raised his * Korah, like Croesus, typifies an enormously wealthy man. THE STORY OF JEWAD. 24I eyes to look upon the beauty of the Kingj he saw that he who sat upon the indescrib- able throne was — HIMSELF, Temma- l-Kitdb Bi- 'awni- lldki- I- Wahhdh ADVERTISEMENTS THE EBERS GALLERY A COLLECTION OF PAINTINGS ILLUSTRATING THE ROMANCES OF GEORG EBERS BY THE FOLLOWING ARTISTS L. Alma-Tadema, W. a. Beer, W. Gentz, P. Grot-Johann, H. Kaulbach, Ferd. Keller, O. Knille, F. Simm, Laura Tadema, E. Teschendorff, P. Thumann. TWENTY IJjLUSTKATIONS WITH DESCRIPTIVE LETTER-PRESS Printed from handsome large new type on plate-paper Photographic Reproduction by Friedrich Bruckmann of Munich In loose sheets, in cloth covered box, - $22.50 One Vol., Folio, bound in half morocco, gilt edges, by Allred Matthews, - - - - - 40. 00 One Vol., Folio, superbly bound in full morocco extra, by Alfred Matthews, ... 50.00 William S. Gottsberger, Publisher, New York. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS Paul Thumann : Sappho and Bartja in the garden. Franz Simm : Nitetis and Cambyses ; their first meeting. F'ERDINAMD KELLER : Nitetis in the Hanging Gardens overlooking the plain of Babylon. Paul Grot-Johann : The sick Tachot on the balcony. UARDA Ferdinand Keller : Ameni and Bent-Anat ; the high-priest refus- ing her admission to the Temple. WiLHELM Gentz : Uarda attended by the physician Nebsecht and her grandmother. Emil Teschendorff : Uarda and Rameri outside the paraschites' hut. HOMO SUM WiLHELM Gentz : Miriam with the goats at the spring. LOHENZ Alma-Tadema: Paulus and Hennas throwing the discus. Ferdinand Keller: Paulus and Sirona; the anchorite rescuing her. THE SISTERS Emil Teschendorff : The Sisters ; Klea discovering the violets in Irene's hair. Emil Teschendorff : Klea in the Temple. THE EMPEROR Ferpinanp Keller : Selene thrown down by Argus. Otto Knille ; Hadrian and Antinous in the palace at Lohcias. A QUESTION Lorenz Alma-Tadema , Phaon and Xanthe on the marble bench. THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE Hermann Kaulbach : Maria gazing on the portrait of her hus- band's first wife. Hermann Kaulbach: Georg and Maria meeting on the stairs. Laura Tadema : Maria at the bedside of the sick Bessie. A WORD, ONLY A WORD Hermann Kaulbach : Ulrich and Ruth ; the thunder-shower in the woods. W. A. Beer : The Flight ; Dr. Costa and his family abandon their home. A GALLERY OF EBERS' HEROINES. (EXTRACT FROM ARTICLE IN THE BOOK BUYER, CHRISTMAS, 1885.) "Only Gustav Freytag has before been illustrated on so magnificent a scale, and Victor Scheffel's ' Ekkehard ' has also set some very skilful brushes in motion. But anything quite so elaborate, and, at the same time, so artistically satisfactory, has, we believe, never before been attempted. The Egyptian ro- mances of Ebers, quite apart from their literary merit, are replete with scenes of striking picturesqueness ; and no more tempting subjects for pictorial skill could be imagined than his archaeologi- cal love-making, murders, and abductions, traced in bold relief against a background of sphinxes and pyramids. There is a glow and splendor of color in them all which is ravishing. With the aid of these pictures, which are as beautiful as they are faithful in archEeological detail, the civilization of ancient Egypt becomes as vivid and intelligent to us as that of the Parisian boulevards. " If there is any picture in the collection which rises above the high average level of excellence, it is Ferdinand Keller's 'Nitetis in the Hanging Garden overlooking the Plains of Babylon.' We have never seen the Egyptian type of woman- hood so vividly realized, so exquisitely refined, yet so distinctly individual. One becomes conscious of a certain tenderness for the mummies in the British Museum, and a desire for their acquaintance, after having gazed for a while at this lovely daugh- ter of the Pharaohs. Wasn't Moses rather prejudiced in the view" he took of the Egyptians, and wouldn't it be well to read Ebers before giving our sympathies so unqualifiedly to the Hebrews in the conflict ? Reflections of this sort urge themselves upon us as we contemplate the sweet humanity with which artists like Keller, Thumann, Gentz, and Teschendorff have invested their types of Egyptian womanhood. Teschendorff is more conventional than Keller, more modern, and less Oriental. His Uarda is German, though, in her interview with the prince, so lovely that her nationality becomes a matter of no consequence. Alma-Tadema's two pictures, which are here photographically reproduced, deal with the Greek scenes with which Ebers' romances are abun- dantly intersprinkled. Prof. Paul Thumann hovers upon the borderland of Greek and Oriental civilization in his ' Sappho and Bartja, ' in which, by the way, the drawing is marvellously skilful. The sweep of the girl's figure is graceful, animated, and beauti- fully expressive, " — H. H. Bc*ycseii. GEORG EBERS ROMHNCES & BIOGRAPHIES COMPRISING : AN EGYPTIAN PRINCESS, TWO VOLUMES THE BRIDE OF THE NILE, TWO VOLUMES THE BURGOMASTER'S WIFE, ONE VOLUME SERAPIS, THE EMPEROR, ONE VOLUME TWO VOLUMES UARDA, HOMO SUM, TWO VOLUMES ONE VOLUME THE SISTERS, A QUESTION, ONE VOLUME ONE VOLUME A WORD, ONLY A WORD, ONE VOLUME LORENZ ALMA-TADEMA, ONE VOLUME RICHARD LEPSIUS, ONE VOLUME Romances, 14 volumes, cloth, in case, - - - $i i 00 " and Biographies, 16 volumes, cloth, in case, 13 00 " " " " half calf extra, incase, 32 00 ASP ASIA. — A Romance, by Robert Hamerling, from the German by Mary J. Safford, in two vols. Paper, $i.oo. Cloth, $1.75. " We have read his work conscientiously, and, we confess, vfith profit. Never have we had so clear an insight into the manners, thoughts, and feelings of the ancient Greeks. No study has made us so familiar with the age of Pericles. We recognize throughout that the author is master of the period of which he treats. More- over, looking back upon the work from the end to the beginning, we clearly perceive in it a complete unity of purpose not at all evident during the reading." " Hamerling's Aspasia, herself the most beautiful woman in all Hellas, is the apostle of beauty and of joyousness, the im- placable enemy of all that is stern and harsh in life. Unfortunately, morality is stern, and had no place among Aspasia's doctrines. This ugly fact, Landor has thrust as far into the background as possible. Hamerling obtrudes it. He does not moralize, he neither condemns nor praises ; but like a fate, silent, passionless, and resistless, he carries the story along, allows the sunshine for a time to silver the turbid stream, the butterflies and gnats to flut- ter above it in rainbow tints, and then remorselessly draws over the landscape gray twilight. He but follows the course of history; yet the absolute pitilessness vrith which he does it is almost terrible." — Extracts from Review in Yale Literary Magazine. " No more beautiful chapter can be found in any book of this age than that in which Pericles and Aspasia are described as visit- ing the poet Sophocles in the garden on the bank of the Cephis- sus," — Utica Morning Herald. "It is one of the great excellencies of this romance, this lofty song of the genius of the Greeks, that it is composed with perfect artistic symmetry in the treatment of the different parts, and from the first word to the last is thoroughly harmonious in tone and coloring. Therefore, in 'Aspasia,' we are given a book, which could only proceed from the union of an artistic nature and a thoughtful mind — a book that does not depict fiery passions in dramatic conflict, but with dignified composure, leads the conflict therein described to the final catastrophe." — Allgemeine Zeitung. (Augsburg). William S. Gottsberger, Publisher^ New York. QULNTUS CLAUDIUS A Romance of Imperial Rome, by £rnBt Eckstein, from the German by Clara Bell, ia two vols. Paper, $1.00. Cloth, $1.75. "We owe to Eckstein the brilliant romance of ' Quintus Claudius,' which Clara Bell has done well to translate for us, for it is worthy of place beside the Emperor of Ebers and the Aspasia of Hamerling. It is a story of Rome in the reign of Domitian, and the most note^i characters of the time figure in its pages, whicji are a series of picturesque descriptions of Roman life and manners in the imperial city, and in those luxurious retreats at liaiae and elsewhere to which the wealthy Romans used to retreat from the heats of summer. It is full of stirring scenes in the streets, in the palaces, in the temples, and in the amphitheatre, and the actors therein represent every phase of Roman character, from the treacherous and cowardly Domitian and the vile Domitia down to the secret gatherings of the new sect and their exit from life in the blood-soaked sands of the arena, where they were torn in pieces by the beasts of the desert. The life and the manners of all classes at this period were never painted with a bolder pencil than by Eckstein in this masterly romance, which displays .as much scholarship as invention." — Mail and Express, N. Y. " These neat volumes contain a story first published in German. It is written in that style which Ebers has cultivated so success- fully. The place is Rome ; the time, that of Domitian at the end of the first century. The very careful study of historical data, is evident from the notes at the foot of nearly every page. The author attempted the difficult task of presenting irra single story the whole life of Rome, the intrigues of that day which compassed the overthrow of Domitian, and the deep fervor and terrible trials of the Christians in the last of the general persecutions. The court, the army, the amphitheatre, the catacombs, the evil and the good of Roman manhood and womanhood — all are here. And the work is done with power and success. It is a book for every Christian and for every student, a book of lasting value, bringing more than one nation under oli)ligation to its author." — ^ew yerusalem Maga